Rifampicin is one antibiotic that can be used to kill mycobacterial cells. Although rifampicin is very effective at killing mycobacterial cells, it is often the first antibiotic to which resistance develops.
Rifampicin binds to a section of RNA polymerase that has attached to the DNA template strand.
Explain how binding to RNA polymerase allows rifampicin to kill mycobacterial cells.
The standard treatment for TB continues for six months. Initially, four antibiotics are prescribed. This is then reduced to two of the four antibiotics, rifampicin and isoniazid, if the person responds to treatment.
A person with multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) does not respond to treatment with rifampicin and isoniazid. The treatment for MDR-TB involves other antibiotics and can last for up to 30 months.
Table 2.1 shows the number of reported cases of TB and MDR-TB in the South-East Asia region between 2005 and 2014, as published by the World Health Organization (WHO).