{
  "abstract": "Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global public health concern, further complicated by the emergence and transmission of drug-resistant strains. Diversity within the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) may also influence disease progression and treatment response. We conducted a longitudinal study among 126 Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra-confirmed TB patients enrolled and followed at the Antituberculosis Center of Brazzaville between July 2023 and November 2024. MTBC species were identified using the Genotype MTBC assay, and resistance-associated mutations in rpoB, katG, and embB were characterized by targeted Oxford Nanopore sequencing and interpreted using the WHO mutation catalogue and TB-Profiler. The overall treatment success rate was 81.7% (103/126). Among 109/126 samples successfully typed, M. tuberculosis accounted for 92.7% (101/109), Mycobacterium africanum for 3.7% (4/109), while mixed infection accounted for 0.9% (1/109) and inconclusive profiles for 2.8% (3/109). Resistance-associated mutations were assessed in 65 of the 126 enrolled patients with high-quality sequencing data. Among these 65 isolates, 32.3% (21/65) harbored resistance to at least one of the targeted first-line drugs, including isoniazid (23.1%; 15/65), rifampicin (15.4%; 10/65), and ethambutol (9.2%; 6/65). Multidrug-resistant TB was identified in 12.3% (8/65). The predominant mutations occurred at rpoB codon 435, katG codon 315, and embB codon 306. Treatment success was lower among patients infected with strains carrying a resistance-associated mutation (71.4%). Isoniazid resistance was associated with reduced odds of treatment success in unadjusted analysis (OR = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.05–0.93; p = 0.04). These findings suggest a considerable burden of genotypically predicted first-line drug resistance and support expanding molecular drug-susceptibility testing beyond rifampicin in TB surveillance and patient management in the Republic of Congo.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Fondation Congolaise pour la Recherche Médicale, Brazzaville P.O. Box 2672, Congo",
    "Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université Marien Ngouabi, Brazzaville P.O. Box 69, Congo",
    "Programme National de Lutte Contre la Tuberculose, Brazzaville P.O. Box 1066, Congo",
    "Laboratoire National de Référence des Mycobactéries, Brazzaville P.O. Box 1066, Congo",
    "Faculté des Sciences de la Santé, Université Marien Ngouabi, Brazzaville P.O. Box 2672, Congo",
    "Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné, Lambaréné P.O. Box 1437, Gabon",
    "Service de Pneumologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Brazzaville P.O. Box 32, Congo",
    "Centre Antituberculeux de Brazzaville, Brazzaville P.O. Box 1066, Congo",
    "Société Congolaise de Santé Mentale (SOCOSAM), Brazzaville P.O. Box 2672, Congo",
    "Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen, Wilhelmstraße 27, 72074 Tübingen, Germany",
    "German Center for Infection Research, Tübingen Site, University of Tübingen, Wilhelmstraße 27, 72074 Tübingen, Germany"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 17,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Mita Naomie Merveille Dello",
      "orcid": "0009-0004-7124-7796"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Freisnel Hermeland Mouzinga",
      "orcid": "0009-0009-5838-6106"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Breli Bonheur Ngouama"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Darrel Ornelle Elion Assiana",
      "orcid": "0009-0007-2666-0719"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Dechvie Jeannis Melissa Boumpouthoud"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jean Claude Djontu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Claujens Chastel Mfoutou Mapanguy",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1408-4765"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Emmanuel Fonfon Ebata-Mboussa"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Beny Erudit Elenga"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Jabar Babatunde Pacôme Achimi Abdul",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9264-5468"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Salomon Bonsi Tchuandom",
      "orcid": "0009-0002-1055-005X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        4,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Franck Hardain Okemba-Okombi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Michel Illoye Ayet"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Etienne Nguimbi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4,
        8
      ],
      "name": "Alain Maxime Mouanga",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8825-1864"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5,
        9,
        10
      ],
      "name": "Ayola Akim Adegnika",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3197-5946"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        8,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Francine Ntoumi",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4748-050X"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1pwvqeyq8ckcw.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/ijms27208999",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13704716",
  "id": "1pwvqeyq8ckcw",
  "issns": [
    "1422-0067"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/20/8999",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2725|Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221511976",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13704716?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13704716",
  "pmid": "42941774",
  "published": "2026-10-11",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1pwvqeyq8ckcw.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:55Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/ijms27208999",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/20/8999"
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    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:22:24Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42941774",
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      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42941774"
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2725|Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology",
      "subfield": "infectious-disease"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Targeted Nanopore Sequencing for Molecular Characterization of First-Line Drug Resistance and Treatment Outcomes Among Patients in the Republic of Congo",
  "title_text": "Targeted Nanopore Sequencing for Molecular Characterization of First-Line Drug Resistance and Treatment Outcomes Among Patients in the Republic of Congo",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:22:24Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1pwvqeyq8ckcw",
  "venue": "International Journal of Molecular Sciences",
  "versions": []
}