Implementing tuberculosis preventive treatment in high-prevalence settings.

Abstract

Latent tuberculosis infection affects one quarter of the world s population, and effective therapies are available. However, scale-up of tuberculosis preventive treatment (TPT) remains limited. We describe strategies to support scale-up of TPT in high-prevalence settings, where the potential benefit for affected individuals is considerable. Patients must be at the centre of policies to scale-up TPT. Addressing the health system requirements for scale-up will ensure that programs can deliver treatment safely,efficiently and sustainably. Further research is required to adapt TPT to local contexts,and develop new shorter treatments that will be suitable for wide-scale deployment.