The Chinese New Year holiday is fast approaching and people are getting ready for the holiday.This year, the Chinese New Year holiday lasts for 6 days.During this festive season, the Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS) workers around the country will continue to remind tuberculosis (TB) patients to take their medications during the holiday in order to ensure patient adherence to TB treatment.

The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) points out that it takes at least six months of treatment to cure TB. Nevertheless, TB patients often adhere poorly to the drug regimen due to improvements in their conditions or negligence, especially during this time of the year.As people are busy enjoying the holiday or traveling, they tend to forget their daily routines.Hence, TB patients are likely to forget to take their medications.When TB patients stop their treatment prematurely or take their drugs irregularly, issues such as drug resistance will arise.To ensure patient adherence to TB treatment during the Chinese New Year holiday, Taiwan CDC has formulated a plan that asks CDC personnel and community health workers to continue to remind TB patients to take their medications.

Taiwan CDC explains that DOTS (directly observed treatment short-course) refers to a standardized treatment regimen directly observed by a healthcare worker or trained community health worker to enhance the cure rate of TB.DOTS is currently the most effective TB prevention strategy recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).In 2001, the WHO theme of the World TB Day was “DOTS: TB cure for all” to emphasize “the importance of ensuring access to treatment for all people with TB; whether rich or poor, young or old, male or female, irrespective of race, ethnicity, social status, or the many other means by which people in need are deprived of treatment that should be theirs”.Over the years, Taiwan has also committed a tremendous amount of resources to implement the DOTS strategy in the nation.The DOTS coverage rate among sputum smear-positive TB patients in Taiwan has reached over 90%.

Taiwan CDC stresses that TB control is a long-term battle and strict adherence to TB drug regimen for a sufficient period of time is the only way to defeat TB.To ensure patient adherence to TB treatment during the holiday, DOTS workers will continue to supervise TB patients in taking their medications through home visits and phone calls.