Hospital control and multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis in female patients, Lima, Peru

We examined the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB), rate of multidrug-resistan t (MDR) TB, and characteristics of TB on a female general medicine ward in Peru. Of 250 patients, 40 (16%) were positive by sputum culture and 27 (11% ) by smear, and 8 (3%) had MDRTB. Thirteen (33%) of 40 culture-positive pat ients had not been suspected of having TB on admission. Six (46%) of 13 pat ients whose TB was unsuspected on admission had MDRTB, compared with 2 (7%) of 27 suspected cases (p=0.009). Five (63%) of 8 MDRTB patients were smear positive and therefore highly infective. In developing countries, hospital control, a simple method of reducing the spread of MDRTB, is neglected.