Each year, million patients are newly diagnosed with active TB and million patients die of TB. The rapid spread of the human immunodeficiency virus has fueled the TB epidemic, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where 28% of TB patients are HIV positive (WHO 2007). The current first-line treatment for TB is a multidrug regimen consisting of rifampin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol (RIZE). Several major problems are associated with the currently available TB treatment. There is an increasing incidence of multidrug-resistant (MDR; resistance to at least rifampin and isoniazid) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR; MDR resistance plus resistance.
