Distinct mechanisms drive post-antibiotic Tuberculosis relapse post-cure versus post-treatment-failure.

ABSTRACT: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health concern, as Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infects a quarter of the world's population. Though many TB patients sterilize infection with treatment regimens including the current standard, incomplete sterilization leads to post-treatment relapse and development of drug resistance. Two mechanisms have been hypothesized as driving relapse: persistence, where treatment kills all replicating Mtb, and relapse follows once non-replicating Mtb return to a replicative niche; and threshold, where replicating Mtb remain alive, yet below detectable levels. Relapse is often detected through a combination of clinical and bacteriological testing, often clinically described as recurrence of TB <2 years after a "cure" diagnosis, while many ex

SUBMITTER: Michael CT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12803110 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature