Estimated numbers of new TB cases in Patan, a city in Nepal.

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to show that, despite comprehensive coverage of services for TB provided by a public-private partnership for TB control in Patan, a city in Nepal, case finding is low, compared with the target based on an Annual Risk of Tuberculosis Infection (ARTI) of 4 per cent. Doubts have been raised as to the appropriateness of the target. The objective of the study was to estimate the number of new TB cases occurring in Patan, to assess whether the target was appropriate.

Family-member DOTS and community DOTS for tuberculosis control in Nepal: cluster-randomised controlled trial.

Background: A key component of the DOTS strategy for tuberculosis control (short-course chemotherapy following WHO guidelines) is direct observation of treatment. WHO technical guidelines recommend that health workers should undertake this part of the strategy, but will also accept direct observation of treatment in the community; WHO does not think that a family member should undertake this role. Supporting evidence for these recommendations is not available.

Decentralisation and TB control in Nepal: understanding the views of TB control staff.

Experience shows that planners need to consider the effect of the process of decentralisation on national health programmes. The aim of this article is to explore the relationship between decentralisation and a national disease control programme by seeking to understand the views and attitudes of staff working in a national TB control programme on the process of change and their involvement in that change. The study to which this paper refers was performed in Nepal, where, in common with several low- and middle-income countries, a Local Self Governance Act has been passed and decentralisation is in the process of being introduced in the health sector.

Control of tuberculosis in an urban setting in Nepal: public-private partnership.

Objectives: To implement and evaluate a public-private partnership to deliver the internationally recommended strategy DOTS for the control of tuberculosis (TB) in Lalitpur municipality, Nepal, where it is estimated that 50% of patients with TB are managed in the private sector.

Methods: A local working group developed a public-private partnership for control of TB, which included diagnosis by private practitioners, direct observation of treatment and tracing of patients who missed appointments by nongovernmental organizations, and provision of training and drugs by the Nepal National TB Programme (NTP). The public-private partnership was evaluated through baseline and follow-up surveys of private practitioners, private pharmacies, and private laboratories, together with records kept by the Nepal NTP.

Linking private and public sectors in tuberculosis treatment in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem and the world's foremost cause of death from a single infectious agent. Despite the increasing number of TB patients who seek help in the private sector, there are few practical examples of how to create a public/private linkage of TB services. The paper presents a pilot service-linkage project between the public and private sector in TB control in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.