title: Prevalence of tuberculosis and treatment outcome among university students in Northwest Ethiopia: a retrospective study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Universities tend to be highly congregate settings, both in the classroom and in residences, and thus provide special opportunities for large number of persons to be exposed to a person with tuberculosis (TB). Despite the high prevalence of TB in Ethiopia, the TB prevalence and the treatment outcome among students have never been studied. Therefore, this study was aimed at determining the prevalence and treatment outcome of TB among students at University of Gondar from January 2007 to December 2011.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data on age, sex, TB type, category, and treatment outcome of students with TB was collected from medical records of University of Gondar Hospital, TB Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS) clinic. All TB cases diagnosed with smear, culture, and/or radiography were included in the study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the five year study period in the university, there were an average of 36 students with TB per year out of a mean of 10,036 enrolled students. Smear positive pulmonary TB, smear negative pulmonary TB, and extra pulmonary TB, respectively, were observed in 46 (25.4%), 81 (44.8%) and 54 (29.8%) of the cases. The prevalence of all forms of TB per 100,000 populations in the University ranged from 297.6 in 2009 to 404 in 2011, respectively. The prevalence of TB in the Social Sciences and Humanities Faculty was higher than the one observed in the Medical College. The overall treatment outcome was classified as cured in 36 (19.9%), completed in 91 (50.3%), defaulted in 9 (5%), failed in 3 (1.7%), died in 1 (0.6%), and transferred out in 41 (22.7%) of the cases. Treatment success rate (TSR) among students in University was generally low ranging from 58.1% in 2009 to 82.9% in 2011 with a mean TSR of 70.2%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of TB is higher in comparison to the national figure among students in University of Gondar. Active surveillance systems could be important to get a clear picture of the TB situation in such settings. Assessing the factors associated with the high prevalence to gear the TB control strategy could also be essential.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Molecular Biology, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, P.O. BOX 196, Gondar, Ethiopia. beyemoges@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Beyene
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Moges
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia. amarebem6@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Bemnet
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Amare
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia. gizachewyismaw@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Gizachew
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yismaw
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Molecular Biology, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, P.O. BOX 196, Gondar, Ethiopia. mwmesi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Meseret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Workineh
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia. shitayea@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Shitaye
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alemu
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia. desalewm@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Desalew
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mekonnen
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia. ermi_diro@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Ermias
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Diro
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia. bt1488@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Belay
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tesema
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia. afeworkkassu@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Afework
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kassu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult