First case of highly drug-resistant TB found in US (AP)

First case of highly drug-resistant TB found in US
(AP)

This Oct. 5, 2009 photo shows tuberculosis and HIV patient Vancherleum Maharathanaing, 33, looking out from the isolation ward at Wat Prabat Nampu, in Lopburi, Thailand. Simple TB is simple to treat, a $10 course of medication, but the pills must be taken in specific combinations for six months to completely wipe out the bacteria. If treatment is stopped short, the TB learns to fight back against the drugs, mutating into a tougher strain for which few, if any, medications exist. It can cost $100,000 a year or more to cure drug-resistant TB, which is described as multi-drug-resistant (MDR), extremely drug-resistant (XDR) and completely drug-resistant (CDR). (AP Photo/David Longstreath)AP – It started with a cough, an autumn hack that refused to go away.

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