ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the case of tuberculosis (TB); it focuses on the TB epidemics current global spread, its drivers and health sector responses. Benatar. S and Upshur. R argues that TB has passed through four eras, the first two seeing the disease and its successful treatment in Europe and North America. The chapter examines these individual and societal impacts globally and then at different geographic scales in the contexts of the former Soviet Union and South Africa. A study in a sentinel case area in KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) showed that from 2005-2007, 272 MDR TB and 382 XDR TB cases were diagnosed with HIV co-infection rates of 90 and 98 per cent, respectively. In order to contribute to the knowledge base needed to respond better to the TB epidemic, an analysis of patient experiences of TB and its co-infection with HIV was recently carried out in two urban and one rural area in South Africa.
