Shahina Qayyum, Nadeem Rizvi.
DOTS: community participation to fight Tuberculosis.
Pak J Chest Med Jan ;9(4):7-10.

The World Bank recognizes the DOTS strategy as one of the most cost-effective health interventions, and recommends that effective TB treatment should be a part of the essential clinical services package available in primary health care (PHC). Five components of the DOTS strategy are 1. Sustained political commitment. 2. Access to quality-assured sputum microscopy. 3. Standardized short-course chemotherapy for all cases of TB, under proper case management conditions, including direct observation of treatment. 4. Uninterrupted supply of quality-assured drugs. 5. Recording and reporting system: enabling outcome assessment of all patients and assessment of overall programme performance. Target of TB control programme in Pakistan is to achieve 100% DOTS coverage by 2005. This is being done as stepwise programme by respective provincial organizations. Detect 70% of all cases and successfully treat 85% of them by 2005. Reduce prevalence and deaths of tuberculosis by 50% by 2010. The TB case-load is overwhelming available resources. This is a review article.

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