Tuberculosis update: will good news become bad news?

Recent efforts to reestablish control of tuberculosis have resulted in some success. However, deaths from tuberculosis continue to increase worldwide. Molecular techniques have dominated investigators' efforts to improve diagnostic methods and therapeutic options. Unfortunately, no significant advances in the development of new drugs have occurred. Ongoing attempts to develop more effective vaccines hold some preliminary promise, but delineation of the protective antigens on Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the development of a vaccine for use in humans is considered decades away from clinical use. The lack of political commitment worldwide and the potential loss of support nationally remain major obstacles to the establishment of effective and long-lasting tuberculosis control.