A TEAM of chemists claims to have created a compound capable of killing every strain of tuberculosis isolated from humans, including drug-resistant forms. But they can鈥檛 say what it is.
Resistance to existing anti-TB drugs is a major problem worldwide, and new drugs are badly needed. Initial lab tests on the new compound are extremely exciting, says team leader Brent Copp at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. 鈥淗e has some compounds that do show considerable promise,鈥� says Jack Secrist of the Southern Research Institute, Alabama, where the tests were conducted. The researchers are keeping the structure of the compound under wraps until they publish the results of animal tests now under way.