Tuberculosis bacteriology laboratory services and incremental protocols for developing countries

Tuberculosis causes more deaths worldwide than any other single infectious disease. Most new cases occur in developing countries, where the emergence of HIV/AIDS-associated multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis could disrupt the effective delivery of chemotherapy. Diagnosis, one of the cornerstones of the modern national tuberculosis control programs in developing countries, is based on sputum smear microscopy, which can be delivered effectively only through a national laboratory network. Tuberculosis diagnostic services can be delivered in lock step with the expanding laboratory network in an incremental manner, beginning with the simplest procedure and ending with the most sophisticated ones.