lives between its launch and 2015. A number of targets they set were not achieved by 2015, mostly due to the increase in HIV-associated tuberculosis and the emergence of multiple drug-resistant tuberculosis. A tuberculosis classification system developed by the American Thoracic Society is used primarily in public health programs. In 2015, it launched the End TB Strategy to reduce deaths by 95% and incidence by 90% before 2035. The goal of tuberculosis elimination is hampered by the lack of rapid testing, of short and effective treatment courses, and of completely effective vaccines. The benefits and risks of giving anti-tubercular drugs in those exposed to MDR-TB is unclear. Making HAART therapy available to HIV-positive individuals significantly reduces the risk of progression to an active TB infection by up to 90% and can mitigate the spread through this population. Treatment Treatment of TB uses antibiotics to kill the bacteria. Effective TB treatment is difficult, due to the unusual structure and chemical composition of the mycobacterial cell wall, which hinders the entry of drugs and makes many antibiotics ineffective. Active TB is best treated with combinations of several antibiotics to reduce the risk of the bacteria developing antibiotic resistance. The routine use of rifabutin instead of rifampicin in HIV-positive people with tuberculosis is of unclear benefit . Latent TB Latent TB is treated with either isoniazid or rifampin alone, or a combination of isoniazid with either rifampicin or rifapentine. The treatment takes three to nine months depending on the medications used. People with latent infections are treated to prevent them from progressing to active TB disease later in life. Education or counselling may improve the latent tuberculosis treatment completion rates. New onset The recommended treatment of new-onset pulmonary tuberculosis, , is six months of a combination of antibiotics containing rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol for the first two months, and only rifampicin and isoniazid for the last four months. Where resistance to isoniazid is high, ethambutol may be added for the last four months as an alternative. Treatment with anti-TB drugs for at least 6 months results in higher success rates when compared with treatment less than 6 months, even though the difference is small. Shorter treatment regimen may be recommended for those with compliance issues. There is also no evidence to support shorter anti-tuberculosis treatment regimens when compared to a 6-month treatment regimen. However recently, results from an international, randomized, controlled clinical