title: Mobilising elementary and secondary school students for tuberculosis case finding in Anhui, China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the implementation of a FIDELIS (Fund for Innovative DOTS Expansion through Local Initiatives to Stop TB) project in Anhui Province, China.
  
  
  METHODS
  A survey card was designed for students to identify individuals who might have tuberculosis (TB) in their family. Teachers provided health education on TB before distributing the survey cards. Survey cards identifying individuals with respiratory symptoms for ≥3 weeks were sent by the teachers to village doctors who were trained to visit symptomatic individuals and advise them to undergo sputum examination. Data were routinely collected in the implementation of the FIDELIS project, and quarterly reports from the National Tuberculosis Programme were analysed. The detection of new smear-positive TB cases before and after FIDELIS, as well as with and without FIDELIS, were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the first year, a total of 2 387 405 students were involved and 23 079 symptomatic individuals were examined, among whom 2307 (10.3%) were diagnosed with smear-positive TB. Case detection in FIDELIS counties increased by a factor of 3.5 during the FIDELIS period compared with before FIDELIS, and that in non-FIDELIS counties by a factor of 3.1 (P = 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It was feasible to massively mobilise students for TB case finding through collaboration between the health care and education systems.
authors.affiliation: Anhui Provincial Tuberculosis Institute, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: X H
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Kan
authors.affiliation: The Union China Office, Beijing, China ; Beijing Research Institute for Tuberculosis Control, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: L X
authors.initials: LX
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Anhui Provincial Tuberculosis Institute, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Anhui Provincial Tuberculosis Institute, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Paris, France ; Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan ; Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: C-Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chiang
keywords: China; case finding; epidemiology; student; tuberculosis