Tuberculosis among nomads in Adamawa, Nigeria: outcomes from two years of active case finding
BACKGROUND: Nomadic populations are often isolated and have difficulty accessing health care, leading to increased morbidity and mortality. Although Nigeria has one of the highest tuberculosis (TB) burdens in Africa, case detection rates remain relatively low.METHODS: Active case finding for TB amon...
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Published in | The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease Vol. 19; no. 4; pp. 463 - 468 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
France
International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease
01.04.2015
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | BACKGROUND: Nomadic populations are often isolated and have difficulty accessing health care, leading to increased morbidity and mortality. Although Nigeria has one of the highest tuberculosis (TB) burdens in Africa, case detection rates remain relatively low.METHODS: Active case
finding for TB among nomadic populations was implemented over a 2-year period in Adamawa State. A total of 378 community screening days were organised with local leaders; community volunteers provided treatment support. Xpert® MTB/RIF was available for nomads with negative smear
results.RESULTS: Through active case finding, 96 376 nomads were verbally screened, yielding 1310 bacteriologically positive patients. The number of patients submitting sputum for smear microscopy statewide increased by 112% compared with the 2 years before the intervention. New
smear-positive notifications increased by 49.5%, while notifications of all forms of TB increased by 24.5% compared with expected notifications based on historical trends. Nomads accounted for respectively 31.4% and 26.0% of all smear-positive and all forms TB notifications. Pre-treatment
loss to follow-up and treatment outcomes were similar among nomads and non-nomads.DISCUSSION: Nomads in Nigeria have high TB rates, and active case-finding approaches may be useful in identifying and successfully treating them. Large-scale interventions in vulnerable populations can improve TB case detection. |
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Bibliography: | 1027-3719(20150401)19:4L.463;1- (R) Medicine - General ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1027-3719 1815-7920 |
DOI: | 10.5588/ijtld.14.0679 |