BACKGROUND: Worldwide, the burden of tuberculosis (TB) is high in tribal populations. SETTING: Department of Community Medicine, Burdwan Medical College, Burdwan, India. OBJECTIVE: To compare the profile of TB patients among tribals and non-tribals in the Bhatar Tuberculosis Unit, Burdwan, India. DESIGN: A record-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 599 TB cases in 2009. RESULTS: Respectively 34.7% and 65.3% of the cases were tribals and non-tribals. Among tribal patients, 92.3% had pulmonary TB vs. 82.1% among non-tribals. The proportion of Category I cases (77.4%) was higher among tribals than among non-tribals (60.8%), while the proportion of Category II and III cases was higher among non-tribals. Among new sputum-positive Category I cases, the sputum conversion rate at the end of the intensive phase was respectively 92.4% and 87.7% in tribals and non-tribals. Unfavourable treatment outcome was higher in males and among failure, relapse, treatment after default and transferred out cases. CONCLUSIONS: Differences were noted in type/category of cases, sputum conversion as well as in outcome between tribal and non-tribal TB patients. Although ethnicity by itself was not significantly associated with outcome, factors related to ethnicity might have contributed to these differences between tribals and non-tribals.
BACKGROUND: Worldwide, the burden of tuberculosis (TB) is high in tribal populations. SETTING: Department of Community Medicine, Burdwan Medical College, Burdwan, India. OBJECTIVE: To compare the profile of TB patients among tribals and non-tribals in the Bhatar Tuberculosis Unit, Burdwan, India. DESIGN: A record-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 599 TB cases in 2009. RESULTS: Respectively 34.7% and 65.3% of the cases were tribals and non-tribals. Among tribal patients, 92.3% had pulmonary TB vs. 82.1% among non-tribals. The proportion of Category I cases (77.4%) was higher among tribals than among non-tribals (60.8%), while the proportion of Category II and III cases was higher among non-tribals. Among new sputum-positive Category I cases, the sputum conversion rate at the end of the intensive phase was respectively 92.4% and 87.7% in tribals and non-tribals. Unfavourable treatment outcome was higher in males and among failure, relapse, treatment after default and transferred out cases. CONCLUSIONS: Differences were noted in type/category of cases, sputum conversion as well as in outcome between tribal and non-tribal TB patients. Although ethnicity by itself was not significantly associated with outcome, factors related to ethnicity might have contributed to these differences between tribals and non-tribals.