Tuberculosis Control Programmes in Developing Countries

Overview

Tuberculosis is likely to remain a major health problem in developing countries as long as communities face poor housing, overcrowding and poor nutrition. Many countries have national tuberculosis control programmes, but these are seldom as effective as they could be because of difficulties in the implementation at village level. This book combines the most recent developments in the scientific understanding of tuberculosis with the realities of working at the level of a primary health centre and suggests ways of improving the efficiency of tuberculosis control programmes by an increased understanding of the importance of the sputum-positive patient as the source of transmission and therefore the target of control.