The trial was conducted by New York-based non-profit group the TB Alliance, in collaboration with scientists at South Africa’s University of Cape Town, Stellenbosch University and University of the Free State.

The study showed that PaMZ – described by TB Alliance director Mel Spigelman as a potential “game-changer” – killed TB bacteria twice as rapidly as standard TB treatment after just two months of therapy.

Dr Rod Dawson, consultant pulmonologist and head of the Clinical Research Unit at the UCT Lung Institute, said this could reduce the duration of standard TB treatment from the current six months to four.

Available: http://www.southafrica.info/about/science/tb-190814.htm#.U_bhkKPjqLk