ENHANCING TUBERCULOSIS CONTROL THROUGH EARLY DETECTION AND TREATMENT IMPLEMENTATION

Abstract

 Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global public health challenge, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Early diagnosis and timely initiation of appropriate treatment represent key pillars in breaking the chain of transmission and improving patient outcomes. This article reviews the current state of early detection of TB, outlines effective treatment strategies and offers practical guidance on implementing measures in clinical and public-health practice. The first part emphasises early diagnosis, including symptom screening, contact tracing, radiological and molecular diagnostics, and newer approaches such as artificial-intelligence-assisted imaging and biomarkers. Evidence shows that systematic contact investigation and active case finding significantly increase case detection rates before advanced disease develops. The second part discusses treatment: first-line regimens for drug-susceptible TB, emerging shortened regimens, and the management of drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) with recent advancements in all-oral, shorter-duration regimens. Guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other authorities are summarised, including monitoring and support measures. The third part addresses operational implementation: how to translate early-diagnosis and treatment protocols into practice — including strengthening laboratory capacity, training healthcare workers, ensuring drug supply and patient adherence, and integrating contact screening into health services. The article also discusses barriers such as limited access to diagnostics in resource-constrained settings, stigma, and patient-level factors affecting adherence. A methodology section explains how relevant literature was identified and reviewed, and the results section summarises key findings. The conclusion offers recommendations for healthcare systems and practitioners to implement early diagnosis and effective treatment in order to reduce TB morbidity, mortality and transmission. Key words are provided to facilitate indexing and searching. By bridging the diagnostic, therapeutic and implementation dimensions of TB care, the article aims to support clinicians, public-health practitioners and programme managers in translating evidence into action to curb the burden of TB.