GeneXpert rollout in three high-burden tuberculosis countries in Africa: A review of pulmonary tuberculosis diagnosis and outcomes from 2001 to 2019

Background The rollout of GeneXpert aimed at increasing early diagnosis of tuberculosis to improve treatment outcomes and global tuberculosis targets. Objective This study evaluated trends in tuberculosis diagnosis and outcomes pre- and post-introduction of GeneXpert in three African countries - the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Nigeria and South Africa. Methods Data from 2001 to 2019 were extracted from the World Health Organization's data repository. Descriptive analysis, paired t -tests and interrupted time series models were used. Results Estimated tuberculosis incidence decreased from 327/100 000 to 324/100 000 in the DRC, and from 1220/100 000 to 988/100 000 in South Africa. Incidence remained at 219/100 000 in Nigeria. The tuberculosis case notification rate did not change significantly. Increases in the new case treatment success rates were statistically significant (DRC: p = 0.0201; Nigeria: p = 0.0001; South Africa: p = 0.0017); decreases in mortality were also statistically significant (DRC: p = 0.0264; Nigeria: p = 0.0001; South Africa: p n = 1856, p = 0.085) and Nigeria ( n = 785, p = 0.555) from 2011 to 2019; and a statistically significant decrease in South Africa ( n = 15 269, p = 0.006). Conclusion Improvements in tuberculosis treatment outcomes were achieved, but little progress has been made in new case notification due to varied implementation and scale-up of GeneXpert across the three countries. Implementation barriers need to be addressed to achieve the required tuberculosis targets.