The Policy Changes and Practice of Tuberculosis Preventive Treatment in China

Approximately one quarter of the global population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and this enormous reservoir of latently infected individuals constitutes a critical and sustained source of active tuberculosis (TB) disease. The implementation of preventive treatment for latent tuberculosis infection represents a pivotal public health strategy for curbing the TB epidemic. China bears one of the highest burdens of latent tuberculosis infection worldwide, rendering the scale-up of preventive treatment implementation a matter of particular strategic significance. At present, tuberculosis preventive treatment in our country is still in the promotion stage. Influenced by multiple factors, including the advancement pace of systematic screening, local policy orientations, and the imbalance in public health resource allocation, there are significant differences in the willingness and compliance with preventive treatment among different regions and populations. These practical challenges indicate that China remains considerably distant from the preventive treatment targets established at the Second United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis in 2023. This paper systematically reviews the policy framework and current implementation status of preventive treatment for latent tuberculosis infection in China, with the aim of providing an evidence base for the optimization of preventive treatment strategies.