In the US, tuberculosis is considered more of a special case than a common occurrence. Effective preventive measures have thus far been successful in keeping the disease at bay while third world countries are struggling to treat their patients. Tuberculosis can infect almost any organ in the body, but it is most commonly seen in the lungs. Coughing releases millions of airborne bacteria that can infect anyone who inhales these pathogens. Therefore, tuberculosis is considered the most infectious disease of all infectious diseases, and controlling it is no easy task. The Indian government has adopted the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP) to deal with its TB epidemic. Its system of directly observed treatment, short-course (DOTS) makes sure that patients undergo the full drug treatment regiment from start to finish. DOTS has proven successful in reducing the spread of TB throughout the country. However, the HIV-TB epidemic along with the proliferation of drug resistant strains of tuberculosis have presented new challenges for the whole world, including the US. This film investigates the methods that India has adopted to try to eradicate the disease once and for all and the reasons why the US should pay close attention to a potential epidemic at home.
—Anonymous