Final treatment outcomes of multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis patients in Latvia receiving delamanid-containing regimens

Latvia is a high-priority country in the fight against tuberculosis (TB) in Europe, with an estimated TB incidence of 41 per 100 000 in 2015 [1]. In spite of an improving TB control programme [2] and cure rates reaching 80% for new and retreatment TB cases notified in 2014, multidrug-resistant (MDR-) TB (defined as TB resistant to rifampicin and isoniazid) rates in Latvia remain high [1]. An estimated 8% of new cases and 30% of retreatment TB cases were at least rifampicin-resistant (RR) in 2015 [1]. Cure rates in Latvia were 68% for the 2013 RR/MDR-TB cohort [1]. Of all the MDR-TB patients registered in 2015, 25% had extensively drug-resistant (XDR-) TB (defined as MDR-TB with additional resistance to a fluoroquinolone and a second-line injectable drug) [1]. Final treatment outcomes from the first cohort of delamanid MDR-TB patients in Latvia support its safety and efficacy