Epidemiological Profile and Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in the Commune of Ntoum, Northwest Gabon

Pulmonary tuberculosis remains a major public health problem in Gabon. The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiological profile of pulmonary tuberculosis in patients from the commune of Ntoum and its surrounding area. This was a cross-sectional study from January 2024 to March 2025. The study enrolled patients who attended the Tuberculosis Diagnostic and Treatment Centre (CDT) of the Ntoum Departmental Hospital (Northwest Gabon) for consultation or therapeutic follow-up. A total of 146 patients were enrolled. Males predominated (54.2%), with a sex ratio of 1.21. The mean age of the study population was 34.94 years, with an age range 8-77. Ntoum 6 and Mebba neighbourhoods had the highest rate of tuberculosis patients (8.6% each) in the Ntoum commune. TB/HIV co-infection accounted for 2.2% of patients, with a therapeutic success rate of 77.6%. The mycobacterial strains detected by GeneXpert were all sensitive to Rifampicin. In order to achieve the WHO’s goal of eliminating tuberculosis by 2030, tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment centers in most of Gabon’s health regions play an important role. Despite the relatively high rate of therapeutic success observed, efforts are still needed in the area of case management. The diagnosis of HIV in all tuberculosis patients, or the molecular diagnosis of tuberculosis in all HIV-positive patients, must be spontaneous. In addition, tuberculosis patients must be monitored clinically and biologically on a regular basis. If these recommendations are put into practice, the number of cures will increase nationwide.