Risk-adjusted active tuberculosis case finding strategy in central Ethiopia

Background The World Health Organization recommends active case finding for tuberculosis (TB). Our study evaluated the targeted screening of household contacts (HHCs) of patients with contagious pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in Central Ethiopia. Methods The HHCs of patients with microbiologically confirmed PTB were screened for TB symptoms and risk factors for TB transmission. Symptomatic HHCs were subjected to secondary investigation. Antimicrobial resistance was investigated among study participants. Results Overall, 112 index patients with TB were included, and 289 HHCs from 89 households were screened. Multidrug-resistant-TB was detected in 2.7% (n=3) of index patients. The routine public health system process did not identify any TB suspects among HHCs. In total, 23.9% (n=69) of HHCs reported ≥1 TB symptom and PTB was confirmed in 2.1% (n=6). Reporting >1 TB symptom (relative risk [RR] 29.4, 95% CI 3.5-245.5, P P P =0.022). Conclusion The MDR-TB rate among our patients was higher than recently reported for Ethiopia. Enhanced contact tracing using a risk-adjusted approach seems feasible and increases the case detection rate among HHCs of confirmed TB cases.