 Hi, I am Dr Vidyadarayas, head of the department and consultant spine surgeon at Manipal Hospital Bangalore. We nowadays come across lots of patients with spinal infections, especially tuberculosis, which we were supposed to get eradicated from this world, is actually come back with a vengeance. Maybe partially it is because we have bad food habits and back of immunity because of which we are more prone to infections. And secondly, also the bacteria is becoming more and more virulent and aggressive. And nowadays we encounter more of MDR tuberculosis, that is multidrug resistant tuberculosis. And also, in immunosompromised patients such as AIDS, these incidents of spinal infections is much more. The other area where we get spinal infection is patients getting operated in smaller setups with not very hygienic setups. There is a higher incidence of infection, which we will have to, we look as to how bad or how much damage it has caused and then we treat accordingly. Most of the spinal infections can be treated medically with the use of either IV or oral antibiotics. However, if it comes to the point of risking your neurological structures in and around the spinal cord, you may have to intervene with the surgery to decompress and stabilize the bone. But having said that, even with surgery the ultimate treatment is medical and a long term antibiotic is a must in cases of spinal infection. And normally if it is a thiogenic or pus forming microorganism, we give antibiotics intravenous for 6 weeks and oral for 6 weeks. And if it is tuberculosis of the spine, the treatment can range from 9 months to 1.5 to 2 years. And here again the answer says on proper diagnosis for which a biopsy is a must. A lot of patients get treated enterically as tuberculosis and ultimately when the drugs don't work, we have very less drug source treatment. And that is why we always do a biopsy so that you have a proof that whether it is tuberculosis or pyogenics. And secondly, with the present day norm of gene expert tests, you get a fair idea as to whether the drugs that we normally use for treating tuberculosis are effective in the case that has been biopsy. And it is almost always curable. The final question, infection doesn't lead to any morbidity or mortality if treated adequately and appropriately.