title: The treatment of tuberculosis in South Korea.
abstract: South Korea's complex system of tuberculosis control has never been fully described. The prevalence of tuberculosis has dropped dramatically since 1965, partly because of farsighted governmental policy that provided low-cost, accessible tuberculosis treatment to the entire population. Within the tuberculosis control system, public and private sector entities provide a wide variety of treatment options. The National Tuberculosis Program focuses on improving cure rates for new cases, while the private sector has taken more of a role in the treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis and other types of complicated cases. There has been a decrease in drug-resistant tuberculosis since 1980 for multiple reasons, including increased cure rates from the introduction of rifampin-based regimens, improved nutrition and living standards, and the treatment of drug-resistant cases in the private sector. Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, however, still poses a significant threat to public health. The limited outcomes data that exist in South Korea for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis treatment suggest that cure rates are low and failure and abandonment rates are high. New public health measures are needed to improve the control of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.
authors.affiliation: Partners In Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. kjseung@pih.org
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Seung
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Lew
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D005544:Forecasting; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D009313:National Health Programs; D015995:Prevalence; D017149:Private Sector; D017150:Public Sector; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology