OBJECTIVES: To study trends in Zambia's TB notification rates between 1990 and 2010 and to ascertain progress made towards TB control. METHODS: Retrospective review of TB notification returns and TB programme reports for the period from 1990 to 2010. RESULTS: Two distinct TB trend periods were identified: a period of rising trends up to a peak between 1990 and 2004 and a period of moderately declining trends between 2004 and 2010. Treatment outcomes improved over the two decades. Data on trends in paediatric TB, TB in prisoners and TB in pregnant women remain scanty and unreliable owing to poor diagnostic capability. There were no data available on trends on drug-resistant TB because of the lack of laboratory services to perform drug sensitivity testing. CONCLUSIONS: The period of increasing TB between 1990 and 2000 coincided with an increase in HIV/AIDS. The period of slightly decreasing TB between 2004 and 2010 can be attributed to improved TB care, sustained DOTS implementation and improvement in TB diagnostic services. Newer diagnostics technologies for the rapid diagnosis of active TB cases and for drug-resistant testing, recently endorsed by the WHO, need to be implemented into the national TB programmes to detect more cases and to provide epidemiological and surveillance data from which to obtain an evidence base for guided investments for TB control. Alignment of TB and HIV services is required to achieve improved management outcomes.
OBJECTIVES: To study trends in Zambia's TB notification rates between 1990 and 2010 and to ascertain progress made towards TB control. METHODS: Retrospective review of TB notification returns and TB programme reports for the period from 1990 to 2010. RESULTS: Two distinct TB trend periods were identified: a period of rising trends up to a peak between 1990 and 2004 and a period of moderately declining trends between 2004 and 2010. Treatment outcomes improved over the two decades. Data on trends in paediatric TB, TB in prisoners and TB in pregnant women remain scanty and unreliable owing to poor diagnostic capability. There were no data available on trends on drug-resistant TB because of the lack of laboratory services to perform drug sensitivity testing. CONCLUSIONS: The period of increasing TB between 1990 and 2000 coincided with an increase in HIV/AIDS. The period of slightly decreasing TB between 2004 and 2010 can be attributed to improved TB care, sustained DOTS implementation and improvement in TB diagnostic services. Newer diagnostics technologies for the rapid diagnosis of active TB cases and for drug-resistant testing, recently endorsed by the WHO, need to be implemented into the national TB programmes to detect more cases and to provide epidemiological and surveillance data from which to obtain an evidence base for guided investments for TB control. Alignment of TB and HIV services is required to achieve improved management outcomes.
Authors: Nathan Kapata; Martin P Grobusch; Gershom Chongwe; Pascalina Chanda-Kapata; William Ngosa; Mathias Tembo; Shebba Musonda; Patrick Katemangwe; Matthew Bates; Peter Mwaba; Alimuddin Zumla; Frank Cobelens Journal: Infection Date: 2017-08-04 Impact factor: 3.553
Authors: Frederick Haraka; Tracy R Glass; George Sikalengo; Anna Gamell; Alex Ntamatungiro; Christoph Hatz; Marcel Tanner; Hansjakob Furrer; Manuel Battegay; Emilio Letang Journal: PLoS One Date: 2015-04-21 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Anne Lia Cremers; René Gerrets; Nathan Kapata; Austin Kabika; Emma Birnie; Kerstin Klipstein-Grobusch; Martin P Grobusch Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2016-10-28 Impact factor: 3.295