The World Health Organization has classified Koch's bacillus, the causative agent of tuberculosis, as a serious pathogen because some of its strains have developed high resistance even to advanced drugs.
Dr. Larisa Rusakova, senior researcher and head of the scientific and organizational department at the Central Research Institute of Tuberculosis, points out that this is due to its having the highest level of natural resistance and its ability to survive in the environment for more than a year.
She says: “It can survive in the environment—in soil for a year or more, in books for 3-4 months, in dust for 10 days, in milk for 14-18 days, and in cheese and butter for up to 10 months. But direct sunlight kills it within a few minutes, while a 30 percent sulfuric acid solution and a 15 percent sodium hydroxide solution kill it within 30 minutes, and a 2 percent bleach solution kills it within 24-48 hours.”
According to her, this means that even in nature, it is difficult to eradicate. Therefore, all of this must be taken into account when developing and producing disinfectants for tuberculosis control facilities and for work in areas experiencing tuberculosis epidemics.
She says: “Examples can be cited regarding the timeframe for the development of resistance to some drugs. For example, streptomycin (an antibiotic) was the first effective drug against tuberculosis, and it was first used in 1944, initially achieving remarkable results. Koch's bacilli were soon found to be resistant to it when used alone, so combinations of two or three drugs were prescribed. Isoniazid began to be used to treat tuberculosis patients in 1952, but at the beginning of the twenty-first century, it developed high resistance to it.”
