Bangladesh, April 20 -- Most important scientific breakthroughs for the diagnosis and treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis. Writes Bobby Ramakant

Undoubtedly, among the most important scientific breakthroughs for the diagnosis and treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) have happened in the past few years. But are we able to convert the scientific breakthroughs into public health gains quickly enough – by diagnosing every person with drug-resistant TB, and treating them with safe and effective medicines?

Science has proven that it is possible to reduce the duration of treatment of highly drug-resistant forms of TB from around 2 years to 6 months, reduce toxicity of the medicines, and significantly improve treatment outco...