A rapid survey to determine the prevalence of smear-positive tuberculosis in Addis Ababa.
METHODS
Four kebeles (lowest administrative units) in a typical district of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in an adult population by using a screening questionnaire and sputum examination.


METHODS
A house-to-house visit was conducted. All those 14 years of age and above were screened for the presence of symptoms. Three sputum samples were collected from persons who had symptoms for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) examination.


RESULTS
A total of 12,149 individuals were screened, of whom 173 had symptoms suggestive of TB. Twenty-three were positive for AFB (189/100,000, 95% CI 112-267). No association was observed between smear positivity and socio-demographic factors. Only two of the 23 patients were on anti-tuberculosis treatment (8.7%, 95% CI 1.5-29.5).


CONCLUSIONS
This simple and cost-effective method provides a fairly realistic estimate of the prevalence of TB. Thus with further development of the method it can be used to monitor the progress of TB programmes in resource-poor settings.
Demissie
M
M
Centre for International Health, University of Bergen, Norway. meazademissie@hotmail.com
Zenebere
B
B
Berhane
Y
Y
Lindtjorn
B
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003625:Data Collection; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015995:Prevalence; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000453:epidemiology*