If one is HIV-positive and lives in the developing world is it inevitable that they will also contract tuberculosis? There'€™s no easy answer to that, but because of the sheer scale of TB infection rates among HIV-positive individuals it is becoming standard practice to provide prophylactic medicine to prevent dual infection. But does it work?

Erratic exposure to treatment due to irregular drug supply, inappropriate diagnosis and prescription by health care providers as well as poor adherence to treatment by the patient are all factors leading up to the development of Multi-Drug Resistant TB. Side-effects associated with treatment can also influence patients to stop taking their medication. In this report we visit an MDR-TB referral centre in Klerksdorp, North West.