U ntil the 1950s, tuberculosis (TB) was a public health threat in many high-income countries, how- ever, since the development of a vaccine, introduction of effective treatments and rising living stan- dards, incidence has plummeted and new cases are now predominantly imported cases from en- demic regions [1]. In predominantly poorer countries, TB still represents a major challenge. The stark global health inequity is highlighted by the 2015 World Health Organisation (WHO) ‘End TB’ strategy which seeks to “eliminate TB as a public health problem” by 2050 [2] – a century after the disease came un- der control in high income countries. Today, the growing incidence of multidrug resistant (MDR-TB) and totally drug resistant (XDR-TB) are adding to the complexity of disease control; limited funds, that could once have gone directly into public health programs, must now be redirected to research and development for new drugs to tackle drug-resistant disease. This provides a cautionary tale for hepatitis C elimination.
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