American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Feb 2020
Retracted PublicationIsoniazid and Rifapentine Treatment Eradicates Persistent Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Macaques.
Rationale: Direct evidence for persistence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) during asymptomatic latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in humans is currently lacking. Moreover, although a 12-week regimen of once-weekly isoniazid and rifapentine (3HP) is currently recommended by the CDC as treatment for LTBI, experimental evidence for 3HP-mediated clearance of persistent Mtb infection in human lungs has not been established. Objectives: Using a nonhuman primate (NHP) model of TB, we sought to assess 3HP treatment-mediated clearance of Mtb infection in latently infected macaques. ⋯ However, none of the treated animals developed TB reactivation disease, and they remained without clinical or microbiological evidence of persistent bacilli, suggesting treatment-mediated clearance of bacteria. Conclusions:Mtb can persist in asymptomatic macaques for at least 7 months. Furthermore, 3HP treatment effectively cleared bacteria and prevented reactivation of TB in latently infected macaques.