JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- A total of 303 cases of extreme drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) have been confirmed across South Africa, the country's Health Ministry said on Thursday.

    This form of TB was first identified in South Africa at Tugela Ferry region in Kwa Zulu-Natal province earlier this year and showed a high mortality rate, with 52 of the first 53 patients dying.

    The disease has raised intensive concerns in South Africa because it can be complicated by the presence of HIV/AIDS. More than 5.5 million South Africans, or 11 percent of the population, are infected with HIV. This number is the second largest in the world, only after India.

    The World Health Organization has defined XDR-TB as tuberculosis that is resistant to the main first-line TB drugs andto three or more of the six second-line drugs.