Tuberculosis, caused by the organism Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is one of the major public health threats in the world. The emergence of multidrug resistant strains poses serious threats to the control of this disease due to the complex nature of second-line drug treatment. Upon infection, the bacterium goes through an initial replication phase after which it enters a nonreplicative, drug-resistant state of dormancy. The bacterium is able to survive in this dormant state for decades until the hosts immune system is weakened when it reactivates and causes the infectious disease
