[Tuberculosis control strategy after 1988]

The early detection of new cases of tuberculosis, especially such with positive sputum, and the application of potent chemotherapy aiming at an early and lasting elimination of potential infection sources are urgent requirements of the basic strategy to combat the disease. The case finding must mainly aim at patients with bronchopulmonary complaints lasting over 3 to 4 weeks. X-ray testing of the whole population is no longer necessary. It should be abandoned in favour of careful screening of well defined high-risk-groups. Bacteriological diagnostics and tuberculin testing are now of greater importance within the changing case-finding-strategy. Major changes of therapeutical principles are not to be expected. Generalized protection and isolation measures should be critically scrutinized and reduced to the strictly necessary. Until the final eradication of tuberculosis a generally acceptable strategy related to the dynamic is required.