Village health volunteer participation in tuberculosis control in southern thailand.

The study objectives were to compare the proportions of tuberculosis (TB) cases detected under a project launched in lower part of southern Thailand 1) by screener type [village health volunteer (VHV), health center staff, and hospital staff]; and 2) by region. Among 688 people with suspected TB symptoms referred to have sputum examination with or without chest radiograph, 55 (8%) were diagnosed of TB, including 44 (6%) smear-positive cases. The proportions of smear-positive cases among those screened by VHV, health center and hospital staff were 6.7%, 3.4% and 12.9%; respectively. The corresponding proportions for TB cases were 8.4%, 5.1%, and 12.9%. The proportions of smear-positive cases were 2.5%, 21.7%, and 14.6% for those from the Region A, B and C, respectively. The corresponding proportions of TB cases were 3.5%, 26.5%, and 16.7%. The differences by screener type were not statistically significant. VHV performances in TB case detection were comparable to health center and hospital staff, even under conditions of unrest in one province in Region B and three provinces in Region C.