<![CDATA[Indonesia is among the countries with a high burden of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). The majority of rifampicin resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (>95%) is caused by mutations in the rpoB gene which encodes the beta subunit of RNA polymerase specifically within an 81-base-pair "hotspot" region. This study aimed to identify rpoB gene mutations in MDR-TB isolates using real-time PCR. It was a descriptive observational study employing a laboratory-based approach. Samples were selected using a consecutive sampling technique, consisting of 40 sputum specimens from TB-positive patients. Sample collection was conducted at the Community Health Centers (Balkesmas) in the Semarang City and Ambarawa regions, while mutation analysis was performed at the Laboratory of the Medical Laboratory Technology Department, Poltekkes Kemenkes Semarang. The results showed that the rpoB gene drug dominated as a marker of rifampicin resistance detected in 87.5% of samples (35 out of 40). Five samples yielded no detection results, likely due to target DNA degradation during the study process. This study demonstrates the presence of rpoB gene mutations as an indicator of rifampicin resistance in TB cases within the Semarang and Ambarawa regions.]]>
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