Treatment of latent tuberculosis-infection: aiming at a change of practices in France

Treatment indications for tuberculosis-infection depend on each case, but also on public health policy in each country. This policy usually made at the national level depends on tuberculosis epidemiology of the population concerned and on the country's socio-economic level of development. and more especially of its health system. Eradicating tuberculosis, in the Fifties, by treating all the sick patients or those only infected by the tuberculosis bacillus failed due to the context. Public health decision makers and large world organizations propose more realistic objectives, aiming at gradually eradicating the disease then the infection in each country by defining specific objectives for each one according to the local requirements. Thus, in developing countries, only a part of TB patients is diagnosed and treated: "those who carry enough bacilli to be positive on direct examination (BAAR+) and who thus present with the disease and are risk for their relatives". In countries with intermediate development, the recommendation is to treat all the cases of tuberculosis-disease, but not to treat tuberculosis-infection. (C) 2004 Publie par Elsevier SAS.