Six-month intermittent chemotherapy for tuberculosis in the Mseleni Health Ward of KwaZulu

Three hundred and seventy-three tuberculosis patients in a rural African setting were treated with a 6-month twice-weekly chemotherapy course. The recurrence rate for those with caseating pulmonary tuberculosis was 7.3% overall. In the second stage of the study, a modified form of supervised ambulatory therapy was used and compliance rates and recurrence rates assessed; 84.8% achieved 90% or more compliance and the recurrence rate was 8.7%.