A Comparative Study Between Dots & Non-Dots Patients In Two Districts Of Haryana, India

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is major public health problem in India & among the top killer diseases. It infects one third of the world’s population at any point of time. There are approximately 9 million new cases of all forms of Tuberculosis occurring annually & 3 million people die from it each year. India accounts for 28% of the global T.B. burden. Every year, approximately 1.8 million persons develop Tuberculosis of which about 0.8 million are new smear positive highly infectious cases & about 4.17 lakh people die of TB every year, one person dies every minute & 1000 die every day . The emergence of multi-drug resistant TB (MDR TB) and the spread of HIV/AIDS are contributing to the worsening impact of the disease the principal reasons for the WHO declaring TB a global emergency in 1993.Directly-observed treatment short-course (DOTS) is based on scientifically sound technology and direct observation of drug intake of the patient by treatment observers, thus obviating the drug default problem. It was introduced on a pilot-basis in India in 1993, and large scale expansion began in 1998. By year 2005 entire country was covered by the programme.