Characteristics of Patients Diagnosed with Tuberculosis in a Rural District of Malawi: A Retrospective Analysis of Secondary Data

Tuberculosis still remains one of the significant causes of morbidity and mortality in the globe despite the advances in diagnostic and treatment. In countries with high HIV prevalence like Malawi, the impact of the disease can be largely felt within the health systems. Understanding the demographic and clinical characteristic of diagnosed patients is extremely important for control and prevention of the disease. This present studied described the characteristics of TB patients in a rural district hospital of Malawi. The prevalence of the disease was predominantly higher among males and in the productive age group of 25-44. Affected patients were more likely to be co-infected with HIV and suffer for pulmonary tuberculosis. Majority of the people were newly diagnosed and heavily depended on farming for their day-to-day life. This study, clearly demonstrate that tuberculosis patients are diverse in nature and hence understanding the clinical and demographic determinants of the disease is extremely important for development of effective infection control and prevention programs.