Commentary on ‘the resurgence of disease: social and historical perspectives on the ‘new’ tuberculosis’

Gandy and Zumla offer a contribution to a burgeoning debate within the tuberculosis (TB) community and public health more generally around the need for interdisciplinarity in research and intervention. Their paper provides further evidence of an apparent consensus among those working in TB which is based on the understanding that research and intervention efforts would become more effective by using the whole range of perspectives and approaches available within the academy. The key issue in TB control is not whether researchers should become more inter-disciplinary or whether social science is important or even whether the directly observed treatment short course strategy is the answer. The real issue is how care is delivered to patients. Much can be gained through thoughtful application of care communication and social justice. There should be a shift in perspective from a focus on the microbe to a focus on the terrain; from standardized short term interventions with an emphasis on outputs to an approach that is responsive to context with longer term objectives and a focus on process. This will assist in the integration of technical advances with the truly old fashioned human aspects of disease control that emphasize relationship community partnership and care.