title: Investigation of presumptive tuberculosis cases by private health providers: lessons learnt from a survey in Pakistan.
abstract: Pakistan's National Tuberculosis Control Programme (NTP) is missing data on many tuberculosis (TB) cases who visit private providers. A survey on the incidence and under-reporting of TB in Pakistan provided a database for exploring the investigation and referral of presumptive TB cases by private health providers. The survey showed that private health providers requested both sputum smear and X-ray for diagnostic investigations. Of 2161 presumptive TB cases referred, 1189 (55%) were sent for investigations to a district NTP TB centre, of whom only 314 (26.4%) were registered. This indicates an urgent need to strengthen the link between private health providers and NTP to enhance TB notification.
authors.affiliation: National Tuberculosis Control Programme Pakistan, Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fatima
authors.affiliation: National Tuberculosis Control Programme Pakistan, Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Qadeer
authors.affiliation: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Paris, France.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Enarson
authors.affiliation: University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Hinderaker
authors.affiliation: Public Health England, London, UK.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: National Tuberculosis Control Programme Pakistan, Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yaqoob
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt ; Medical Research Institute, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bassili
keywords: case detection; diagnoses; referral; tuberculosis