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Home / The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Volume 18, Number 7

Active case finding for tuberculosis among people who inject drugs on methadone treatment in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

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SETTING

Active case finding is a World Health Organization (WHO) endorsed strategy for improving tuberculosis (TB) case detection. Despite WHO recommendations for active case finding among people who inject drugs (PWID), few studies have been published. The historical focus of case finding has been in populations that are human immunodeficiency virus-positive, incarcerated or at higher occupational risk. OBJECTIVE

We sought to examine the yield of active case finding among PWID newly started on methadone in Tanzania. DESIGN

Of 222 methadone clients, 156 (70%) met with study administrators; 150 consented to participate, 139 (93%) of whom were male. The median age was 34 years. A symptom-based questionnaire was developed by the investigators and administered to every consenting patient by a native Swahili speaker. RESULTS

Of the 150 patients surveyed, 16 (11%) had one or more TB symptoms and were referred for laboratory testing. Six new TB cases were identified in this active case finding program, with a prevalence of 4%. CONCLUSION

This study presents the first data on TB prevalence in a population of PWID in Tanzania. This prevalence is 23 times that of the general Tanzanian TB prevalence of 0.2%. These results have significant implications for TB control.

Keywords: Tanzania; injection drug use; methadone; tuberculosis

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA 2: Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam 3: Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar es Salaam 4: Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation, Oakland, California, USA 5: Central TB Reference Laboratory, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Publication date: 01 July 2014

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  • The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IJTLD) is for clinical research and epidemiological studies on lung health, including articles on TB, TB-HIV and respiratory diseases such as COVID-19, asthma, COPD, child lung health and the hazards of tobacco and air pollution. Individuals and institutes can subscribe to the IJTLD online or in print – simply email us at [email protected] for details.

    The IJTLD is dedicated to understanding lung disease and to the dissemination of knowledge leading to better lung health. To allow us to share scientific research as rapidly as possible, the IJTLD is fast-tracking the publication of certain articles as preprints prior to their publication. Read fast-track articles.

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