Cases of “totally drug resistant" tuberculosis have been reported by doctors at the Hinduja National Hospital in Mumbai. Of the 12 cases, three have died. The doctors said they had treated patients for up to two years with a battery of drugs, to no avail. The patients came from slum areas of the city, where close contact between people meant further spread was likely. The Indian Health Ministry is investigating the cases and sent a team of doctors to Mumbai.

The American Centres for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed that this strain did appear to be completely resistant. The CDC’s director of Tuberculosis Elimination, said: "anytime we see something like this, we better get on top of it before it becomes a more widespread problem." He added that patients who do not finish their lengthy course of treatment also present the bacterium with the perfect environment for developing further resistance. A senior lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a trustee of charity TB Alert, said “what we're seeing is probably just the tip of the iceberg. We don't know how widespread this is because so few people are tested for drug resistance." She added that the high prevalence of TB in India, coupled with high population density within its cities, meant that the new type of TB could be a bigger problem than previous "totally resistant" strains.