ABSTRACT
Despite the existence of a cure, tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, second only to HIV/AIDS (Semba et al. 2010; Hood 2013; World Health Organization 2014). Currently infecting some 2 billion people, and killing a staggering 1.5 million people in 2013 alone, TB is responsible for more deaths worldwide than any other bacterial infection (Lönnroth et al. 2009; Semba et al. 2010). This death toll is particularly pronounced in resource-poor countries, where 95% of all TB deaths occur and where the disease is estimated to cause 25% of all preventable deaths (World Health Organization 2014). However, TB is indeed a global phenomenon, as middle-income and even some high-income countries face a significant prevalence of TB amongst the poor. Poverty and resource inequity are often common denominators in TB cases (Cegielski and McMurray 2004).
