ISLAMABAD, March 24: Less than one-third of the tuberculosis patients have access to the directly observed short term treatment that represents the best chance of controlling TB epidemic, says a World Health Organization (WHO) report released on the occasion of the World TB Day.

The DOTS, effective in curing 90 per cent of the TB cases, is reaching only 27 per cent of the world’s patients, the report said.

The “WHO Report 2002: Global Tuberculosis Control,” said an estimated amount of $1 billion a year would be needed to treat patients and control the TB epidemic in 22 countries that now accounted for 80 per cent of the world’s TB burden.

Surprisingly, the WHO found that the governments of these 22 low-income nations are already paying 70 per cent of the cost of TB treatment and control.

The DOTS, cited as one of the most cost-effective strategies ever devised against a major killer, requires health workers to watch TB patients take their drugs for at least the first two months of the therapy.

This reduces the chance of patients stopping treatment before they are cured from the disease. This can lead to drug resistance developing in the patient and that same resistance can be passed on to others.

TB is a contagious disease that spreads through the air. Nearly one-third of the world’s population is infected with the TB bacillus and two million die of it each year.

Pakistan has an estimated 1.5 million TB patients and another 250,000 are added to the list every year.

The report, ‘Global Tuberculosis Control’, is the sixth annual summary of the status of the fight against TB issued by WHO since the epidemic was declared a global health emergency in 1993.

WHO said by the end of 2000, 148 of 210 countries were implementing the DOTS strategy, an increase of 21 countries since 1999. Where the DOTS approach is used in Asia, Africa and Latin- America, it has produced an average cure rate of 80 per cent, WHO said.

The goals set for TB control are that by 2005, 70 per cent of all active infectious TB cases will be diagnosed and 85 per cent would be successfully treated if a regular supply of drugs, equipped labs and trained health professionals are available.