What is DOTS?

DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course) has been identified by the World Bank as one of the most cost-effective health strategies available.

DOTS costs only US $3 - $7 for every healthy year of life gained. DOTS get people back to school, work and their families.

The DOTS Strategy DOTS strategy combines appropriate diagnosis of TB and registration of each patient detected, followed by standardized multi-drug treatment, with a secure supply of high quality anti-TB drugs for all patients in treatment, individual patient outcome evaluation to ensure cure and cohort evaluation to monitor overall programme performance.

DOTS is THE MOST EFFECTIVE STRATEGY available for controlling the worldwide TB epidemic today.

DOTS is an inexpensive and highly effective means of treating patients already infected with TB and preventing new infections and the development of drug resistance. Between 1995 and 2003, more than 17.1 million patients were treated under the DOTS strategy.  Worldwide, 182 countries were implementing the DOTS strategy by the end of 2003, and 77% of the world's population was living in regions where DOTS was in place. DOTS programs reported 1.8 million new TB cases through lab testing in 2003, a case detection rate of 45%, and the average success rate for DOTS treatment was 82%. WHO aims to achieve a 70% case detection rate of TB cases and cure 85% of those detected by 2005. The U.N. Millennium Development Goals include targets to halve the 1990 TB prevalence and death rates by 2015.

DOTS uses sound technology—the successful components of TB control—and packages it with good management practices for widespread use through the existing primary health care network.

The technical, logistical, operational and political aspects of DOTS work together to ensure its success and applicability in a wide variety of contexts.