SETTING: Four kebeles (lowest administrative units) in a typical district of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in an adult population by using a screening questionnaire and sputum examination. DESIGN: A house-to-house visit was conducted. All those 14 years of age and above were screened for the presence of symptoms. Three sputum samples were collected from persons who had symptoms for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) examination. RESULTS: A total of 12,149 individuals were screened, of whom 173 had symptoms suggestive of TB. Twenty-three were positive for AFB (189/100,000, 95% CI 112-267). No association was observed between smear positivity and socio-demographic factors. Only two of the 23 patients were on anti-tuberculosis treatment (8.7%, 95% CI 1.5-29.5). CONCLUSION: This simple and cost-effective method provides a fairly realistic estimate of the prevalence of TB. Thus with further development of the method it can be used to monitor the progress of TB programmes in resource-poor settings.
SETTING: Four kebeles (lowest administrative units) in a typical district of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in an adult population by using a screening questionnaire and sputum examination. DESIGN: A house-to-house visit was conducted. All those 14 years of age and above were screened for the presence of symptoms. Three sputum samples were collected from persons who had symptoms for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) examination. RESULTS: A total of 12,149 individuals were screened, of whom 173 had symptoms suggestive of TB. Twenty-three were positive for AFB (189/100,000, 95% CI 112-267). No association was observed between smear positivity and socio-demographic factors. Only two of the 23 patients were on anti-tuberculosis treatment (8.7%, 95% CI 1.5-29.5). CONCLUSION: This simple and cost-effective method provides a fairly realistic estimate of the prevalence of TB. Thus with further development of the method it can be used to monitor the progress of TB programmes in resource-poor settings.
Authors: Keren Middelkoop; Linda-Gail Bekker; Landon Myer; Andrew Whitelaw; Alison Grant; Gilla Kaplan; James McIntyre; Robin Wood Journal: Am J Respir Crit Care Med Date: 2010-06-17 Impact factor: 21.405