Treating latent tuberculosis normally requires nine months of daily pill-taking, but a new study shows that a far shorter course of medication, with once-a-week drugs, works just as well. The study will greatly simplify the lives of about 300,000 Americans who undergo the treatment each year, and the new regimen may reduce the number of cases of active tuberculosis. “This is the biggest breakthrough in the treatment of latent TB since the 1960s,” said Kevin Fenton, head of tuberculosis prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
