anti tuberculosis drugs

1. By Tajuddin Shaik
Chemotherapy of Tuberculosis

2. Chemotherapy of Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease, caused by several
species of mycobacteria. Theimportant human pathogens of this
class are M. tuberculosis and M. bovis. Unlike other bacterial
infections, tuberculosis is a difficult disease to treat. The reasons are:
• Tubercle bacilli grow slowly, dividing only once in 1-2 days, even in
the most favourable circumstances such as in an open cavitary,
pulmonary lesion.
• The caseation and fibrosis tend to block the blood vessels supplying
the necrotic area,making penetration by drugs difficult.
• Tubercle bacilli remain viable and multiply even when ingested by
macrophages.
• CMI develops 2-8 weeks after the infection in most infected patients.
• The organisms tend to develop resistance to the chemotherapeutic
agents by spontaneous chromosomal mutation.

3. Classification of TB Drugs