Tuberculosis remains a serious health problem around the world. In 2003 it was estimated that 1,700,000 persons died from tuberculosis. Many of these deaths occurred in persons suffering from HIV infections who had badly damaged immune systems. The traditional drugs (isoniazide, streptomycin, rifampin, ethambutol, pyrazinamide, ethionamide, cycloserine) used to treat tuberculosis have been handicapped by the mycobacterium tuberculosis organisms’ ability to develop bacterial resistance