TUBERCULOSIS (TB) is an increasing public health problem, presently accounting for 3% of global mortality.1 To tackle this problem, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the directly observed treatment, short course (DOTS) TB control strategy, which entails the use of short- course regimens of effective drug combinations, direct supervision of treatment for at least the first 2 months, and evaluation of treatment for each patient.2 As a broad TB control strategy, DOTS also includes drug supply, monitoring and case detection based on microscopy. Directly observed treatment (DOT), as opposed to DOTS, refers to the treatment component alone.