Resilience and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis: the unlikely ally.

Despite recent advances and well-known treatment options, cure rates for resistant tuberculosis (TB) cases remain extraordinarily low. We present in first person the case of a patient who suffered from TB for over 7 years, and travelled to four countries in search of a cure. This experience shows how resistance patterns worsen under poor programme conditions and illustrates many of the obstacles faced by patients to obtain appropriate care: late diagnosis, lack of experienced care capacity and drug availability, and absence of psychosocial support during toxic and lengthy regimens. In addition to new tools, patient-centred systems are needed to tackle the drug-resistant TB epidemic.