Iphtashu Fitz writes "The journal Nature Medicine is due to release a report today on how highly drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis are on the verge of becoming a global epidimic. Strains of TB that are highly resistant to antibiotics are becoming increasingly prevalent in places like Russia, eastern Europe, and China, and only small changes are required to make these strains start spreading quickly. Treatment for multiple-drug-resistant strains of TB requires a carefully monitored ****tail of drugs taken for months on end, a regimin that many, especially in poorer countries are unlikely to follow to completion. The strategy used by the World Health Organization to combat TB, the "directly observed treatment, short course" or DOTS, involves using trained health workers to watch patients take their long courses of drugs, since even a little carelessness could result in TB mutating into a more drug resistant form within the patient." Oh, Alexander Fleming? where art thou now?

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/09/20/137228