LONDON, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Britain has confirmed its first diagnosed case of the extremely drug-resistant (XDR) strain of tuberculosis (TB), local media reported Friday.

    Doctors in Glasgow, Scotland, are treating a man with the XDR-TB strain, who reportedly came to Britain from Somalia and is now in isolation at the Gartnavel General Hospital, BBC reported.

    This is the first case of its kind reported in Britain since the revised definition of XDR-TB was published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2006.

    "We have taken very prompt measures to try and manage the chances of this person spreading the infection to others," Jim McMenamen from Health Protection Scotland was quoted as saying.

    The doctors said there is no risk to the general public.

    The XDR-TB strain is extremely resistant to traditional antibiotics and has to be treated with a combination of antibiotics to ensure that the treatment is successful in preventing transmission to others.

    According to doctors, XDR-TB is no more infectious than ordinary TB but it does require different treatment, which takes 12-18 months

    TB, a disease that usually attacks the lungs but can affect almost any part of the body, spreads through close and prolonged contact with the infected person.

    A person with TB does not necessarily feel ill but the symptoms can include a cough that will not go away, feeling tired, weight loss, loss of appetite, fever, night sweats and coughing up blood.

    The WHO estimates that nearly 500,000 people a year become infected with drug-resistant TB.