Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing genotype strains associated with febrile response to treatment

DNA fingerprinting has demonstrated predominance of the Beijing genotype am ong Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains isolated in Southeast Asia. We prosp ectively examined the occurrence of Beijing genotype strains in tuberculosi s patients in Indonesia. Early in treatment, patients infected with Beijing genotype strains more often had fever unrelated to disease severity, toxic ity, or drug resistance, indicating that Beijing genotype strains may have specific pathogenic properties.