Yared Merid1, Yimtubezinash Woldeamanuel Mulate2, Mesay Hailu3, Tsegaye Hailu4, Getnet Habtamu4, Markos Abebe4, Daniel G Datiko5, Abraham Aseffa4. 1. Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Hawassa University College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Hawassa, Ethiopia. Electronic address: meridyared@gmail.com. 2. Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 3. Hawassa University College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Hawassa, Ethiopia. 4. Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 5. Management Sciences for Health, Ethiopia.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the utility of a volunteer health development army in conducting population screening for active tuberculosis (TB) in a rural community in southern Ethiopia. METHODS: A population-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in six kebeles (the lowest administrative units). Volunteer women community workers led a symptom screening programme to identify adults ≥15 years of age with TB in the community. Individuals with a cough for ≥2 weeks had spot and morning sputum samples taken, which were examined using acid-fast bacillus (AFB) smear microscopy, culture, and Xpert MTB/RIF. RESULTS: All 24517 adults in the study area had a symptom screen performed; 544 (2.2%) had had a cough for ≥2 weeks. Among those with a positive symptom screen, 13 (2.4%) were positive on sputum AFB smear microscopy, 13 (2.4%) had a positive culture, and 32 (5.8%) had a positive Xpert MTB/RIF test. Overall, 34 TB cases (6%) were identified by culture and/or Xpert, corresponding to a prevalence of 139 per 100000 persons. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the capability of community health workers (volunteer and paid) to rapidly conduct a large-scale population TB screening evaluation and highlight the high yield of such a programme in detecting previously undiagnosed cases when combined with Xpert MTB/RIF testing. This could be a model to implement in other similar settings.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the utility of a volunteer health development army in conducting population screening for active tuberculosis (TB) in a rural community in southern Ethiopia. METHODS: A population-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in six kebeles (the lowest administrative units). Volunteer women community workers led a symptom screening programme to identify adults ≥15 years of age with TB in the community. Individuals with a cough for ≥2 weeks had spot and morning sputum samples taken, which were examined using acid-fast bacillus (AFB) smear microscopy, culture, and Xpert MTB/RIF. RESULTS: All 24517 adults in the study area had a symptom screen performed; 544 (2.2%) had had a cough for ≥2 weeks. Among those with a positive symptom screen, 13 (2.4%) were positive on sputum AFB smear microscopy, 13 (2.4%) had a positive culture, and 32 (5.8%) had a positive Xpert MTB/RIF test. Overall, 34 TB cases (6%) were identified by culture and/or Xpert, corresponding to a prevalence of 139 per 100000 persons. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the capability of community health workers (volunteer and paid) to rapidly conduct a large-scale population TB screening evaluation and highlight the high yield of such a programme in detecting previously undiagnosed cases when combined with Xpert MTB/RIF testing. This could be a model to implement in other similar settings.