Tuberculosis.

The last in a 10-part series investigating diseases from around the globe. Each programme features a single disease and looks at attempts to develop treatments that are effective and affordable to the world's poor who make up the majority of the victims. This part features tuberculosis (TB) which kills 2,000,000 people every year. In Lima in the shanty towns there is a high prevalence of the disease. Work is underway to develop a new compound to treat the disease, in particular a very deadly form, multi drug-resistant tuberculosis. Resistance develops because people often stop taking the antibiotic before the recommended 6-9 months has concluded. Poor people infected with MDRTB have a very poor prognosis and will likely die.