4. Conclusion
The rapid and prompt detection of the TB patient, especially for the infectious case, requires a productive cooperation between the health system and the population. People should be made aware of signs and symptoms of TB and motivated to seek treatment early. The PHC workers can provide simple education, can actively participate in finding suspects, can collect sputum specimen and ensue linkage with the diagnostic service. When a case has been detected and been put on ambulatory chemotherapy, the PHC worker can be an observer who ensures the full consumption of medication and completion of the full treatment course so that the majority of patients can be cured.
According to the health system's structure, a sputum sample is collected by PHC worker at the nearest health post, and examined by microscopy at the health post or center. If the sample is found positive a directly observed treatment short course is started. If the result is negative, the symptomos persist, and no cause is found, the suspect is referred for x-ray examination.
Due to the total coverage of the PHC and its close connection with the community, rapid discovery of TB cases in the community and cure of those cases is both possible and a reality. Through the PHC infrastructure's implementation of TB control program, it is my earnest desire that the integration of TB control into the PHC system will contribute to other aspects of the total health care system.
