[A new horizon of tuberculosis control and research]

In the 1990s, tuberculosis (TB) came to be recognized as one of re-emerging diseases and as a serious health issue worldwide. This has brought about many innovations for TB control and care. These include a series of bacteriological examination methods based on the nucleic acid amplification, immunological diagnostics for TB infection or active disease. The completion of the whole genome analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis opened the way to the development of novel modalities for therapeutics, diagnostics and vaccines. For TB control, WHO developed the DOTS strategy as a standard TB treatment programme that has been being expanded globally, in both developed and developing nations. Japan's TB control programme is being revised drastically in order to meet the change in the TB epidemiology, aiming at realization of the DOTS concept adapted into the Japanese setting of patient care.