Evolution of Programmatic Definitions Used inTuberculosis Prevention and Care

The World Health Organization (WHO) regularly updates definitions used for the management of tuberculosis (TB). The adoption of definitions consistent with scientific progress is challenging. Recently some authors have proposed that WHO should develop a new definition of cure, applied 1 year after treatment completion, for rifampicin- and multidrug-resistant (RR/ MDR) TB. However, loss to follow-up or death from a cause other than TB in the 12-month period after treatment completion can potentially underesti- mate cure rates. Furthermore, the role of reinfection needs to be considered when defining relapses. Herein we present the consensus opinions from commit- tees within the new Global Tuberculosis Network (GTN) about current and po- tential new treatment outcome defini- tions for RR/MDR-TB and definitions for different types of drug-resistant cases (Table 1).