Introduction: TB is associated with high mortality and morbidity among infected individuals and a high transmission rate from person to person. Despite the availability of vaccines and several anti-TB,TB infection continues to increase. Global resistance to TB remains the greatest challenge. There has not been extensive research into a new treatment and management strategy for TB resistance therapy. This review is based on a review of new advances and alternative drugs in the treatment of drug-resistant TB.
Areas covered: New drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis therapy involves a combination of the latest TB drugs, new anti-TB drugs based on medicinal plant extracts for drug-resistant TB, mycobacteriophage therapy, the CRISPR/Cas9 system, and nanotechnology.
Expert opinion: It is necessary to determine the function of individual gene alterations in drug-resistant TB. A combination of the most recent anti-TB drugs, such as bedaquiline and delamanid, is recommended. Longitudinal studies and animal model experiments with some medicinal plant extracts are required for better results. Nanotechnology has the potential to reduce drug side effects. Useful efficacy of phage therapy and CRISPR-cas9 technology as adjunct therapies for the management of drug-resistant TB.
Keywords: Crispr/Cas9; MDR/XDR-TB; medicinal plants; mycobacteriophages; nanotheranostics.