Can taking two pills a week slow down TB in South Africa? There’s a new plan in place

• No other disease in South Africa kills as many people as tuberculosis (TB). To change this, the health department has a new plan for curbing TB infections.

• Until now, only people with HIV and children under five could get preventive medicines. But the new guidelines say anyone who has a big chance of getting infected because they are in contact with someone who has TB, can get the pills.

• Preventive treatment can help to stop infections from spreading, but it needs to be part of a bigger strategy if it is to really get us closer to ending TB.

In 2005, when Busisiwe Beko suspected that she was pregnant, she headed to her local clinic for a test. Beko got more than she bargained for: she tested positive for HIV too.