Background:

We live in an era of effective drugs to treat TB, but these only work if taken consistently. The failure to take medication as prescribed, also referred to as ‘‘treatment non-adherence’’, is associated with significantly increased treatment failure, development of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), increased mortality and greater economic burden for TB patients and society. Fortunately, in this issue of the Journal, a research group from Peru has helped to guide our way forwards with publication of a TB adherence intervention study in Latin America. We will come to this study shortly, but first some background information to better understand the field.