Can treatment delay be utilized as a key variable for monitoring the pool of infectious tuberculosis in a population?

Authors

  • Dag Gundersen Storla Department of International Health, Institute of General Practice and Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway, Centre for Imported and Tropical Diseases, Ullevål University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
  • Solomon Yimer Department of International Health, Institute of General Practice and Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway
  • Gunnar Aksel Bjune Department of International Health, Institute of General Practice and Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3855/jidc.211

Keywords:

Tuberculosis, Diagnostic Delay, Treatment Delay, Community Health Services, Health Surveys

Abstract

Background: A major goal of tuberculosis control programs is to stop community transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. However, this can not be rapidly accomplished because, in endemic areas, most of the population is already infected, serving as a reservoir that continuously contributes to the pool of infectious cases. Tuberculin surveys are the main tools used to monitor the infectious pool, but there are serious methodological constraints, and they require resources and expertise that are often unavailable. There is an urgent need for alternative means to monitor the epidemic at the local level.

Methodology: We investigated whether a systematic registration of treatment delay in the tuberculosis program records of the Amhara Region of Ethiopia could be utilized to estimate the infectious pool of tuberculosis.

Results: The study showed that the total number of infectious days and hence an estimate of the infectious pool could be calculated by recording the treatment delay for new TB cases, retreatment cases and failures, and by estimating the number of undiagnosed cases . Of these categories, treatment delay among new smear-positive tuberculosis cases contributes the greatest number of infectious days.

Conclusions: A local tuberculosis program can use a systematic recording of treatment delay as a quantifiable variable to monitor the infectious pool, and can also serve as a key indicator of program performance.

Author Biographies

Dag Gundersen Storla, Department of International Health, Institute of General Practice and Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway, Centre for Imported and Tropical Diseases, Ullevål University Hospital, Oslo, Norway

Head of Department of Infectious Diseases, Lovisenberg Diakonale Hospital, affiliated with Department of International Health, University of Oslo, Norway

Solomon Yimer, Department of International Health, Institute of General Practice and Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway

PhD Student at Department of International Health, Institute of General Practice and Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway.

Gunnar Aksel Bjune, Department of International Health, Institute of General Practice and Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway

Professor & Head of Department of International Health, Institute of General Practice and Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway.

Downloads

Published

2010-01-18

How to Cite

1.
Storla DG, Yimer S, Bjune GA (2010) Can treatment delay be utilized as a key variable for monitoring the pool of infectious tuberculosis in a population?. J Infect Dev Ctries 4:083–090. doi: 10.3855/jidc.211

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 02: February 2010

Section

Original Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC