[Fifteen years' experience in reformed Beijing tuberculosis control programme].

Since 1978 a new tuberculosis control programme based on WHO recommended modern concept has been started in Beijing. A sound network of tuberculosis control service has been organized. Fully supervised intermittent chemotherapy with newly diagnosed cases of smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis as top priority has achieved satisfactory high rates of compliance and sputum conversion in all 18 districts and counties of the city. Sputum examination was emphasized as the main tool for diagnosis and determination of criterion of cure. Drugs are provided free to those who are needy. On the basis of good implementation of fully supervised chemotherapy for newly diagnosed smear-positive cases, fully supervised retreatment for chronic infectious cases was started, and it resulted in a rapid reduction of the prevalence of chronic infectious tuberculosis from 69.9 in 1979 to 6 in 1985 per 100,000. The prevalence of smear-positive tuberculosis of Beijing during the 3 National Surveys of Tuberculosis was 127, 56 and 16 per 100,000 in 1979, 1985 and 1990 respectively, with an average annual reduction rate of 17%.