A deadly new strain of tuberculosis known as XDR-TB (for extreme drug resistant tuberculosis) has been discovered in South Africa, according to media reports Thursday.

The super bug is likely to have spread beyond the rural area in South Africa where 52 of the 53 people diagnosed with it have died, said Dr. Tony Moll who discovered XDR-TB.

The extent of the outbreak in the Kwazulu-Natal region of eastern South Africa is unknown because tests are expensive and specialized, said Moll.

XDR-TB has been identified among highly mobile miners and probably can be found all over the country, Moll said.

"In some of the mines, they have identified (XDR-TB) and, because our population is so mobile, if you looked in other provinces, no doubt you will find the new strain," he said.

Drug resistance is a common problem in TB treatment, but the new strain appears particularly virulent. Worldwide, about 2 percent of drug-resistant TB cases are classified as extremely drug-resistant.

Moll found only a few cases in thousands of people tested, but said the strain was "very highly troubling and alarming because of the very high fatality rate."

XDR-TB poses a grave public health threat, especially in populations with high rates of AIDS, because AIDS has lowered so many South Africans' ability to fight it and other infections.

The government estimates more than 5.5 million of the 44 million South Africans are HIV-positive, second only to India. On average, more than 900 people die of the disease each day in South Africa.

The World Health Organization, South African health authorities and the US Center for Disease Control are jointly hosting a two-day conference in Johannesburg from Thursday.

Officials and experts from these organizations will discuss how to confront the threat posed by drug-resistant TB.

They will look at news ways of ensuring prompt diagnosis and treatment of drug resistant cases, to prevent further transmission.

They will also consider how to develop new-generation diagnostic tools and smarter drugs to combat the mutating germ, as well as improving links between tuberculosis and HIV programs.

Source: Xinhua/Agencies