Medical interns' knowledge of tuberculosis and DOTS strategy in northern Islamic Republic of Iran.

The increasing incidence of tuberculosis (TB) is a major concern to public health policy-makers. To assess knowledge about TB and the DOTS strategy among medical students in a high incidence area of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a questionnaire designed around the national TB programme guidelines was given to 80 interns in Golestan and Mazandaran medical schools in December 2007. The overall mean knowledge score was 1.80 (SD 1.61) items correct out of 15. Knowledge about diagnosis, treatment and monitoring was especially poor. There were no significant differences between the knowledge of interns who had completed their internships in the infectious diseases or community health departments compared with those who had not.