Prevalence of smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis among patients visiting Bahir Dar health center, Northwest Ethiopia

Awoke Derbie^1* and Daniel Mekonnen¹

¹Department of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) remains the world’s deadliest communicable diseases, responsible for ill-health among millions of people each year. Early detection and management of the disease is crucial to reduce associated burdens. Cross-sectional survey was conducted from November 2014 to February 2015 at Bahir Dar health centre. Sputum samples were collected stained with Ziehl Neelsen staining technique and examined microscopically.  Data were analysed by using SPSS for Windows and descriptive statistics was used to present figures. Of 103 study subjects, the majority 70(67.9%) were males. The mean age of the participants was 36.1 years. The overall prevalence of smear positive tuberculosis was 7 (6.8%). Relatively higher smear positive tuberculosis was observed among males, illiterates, older age groups, family size 5-10, cigarette smokers and alcohol drinkers. Although the numbers of study subjects were quite limited to draw strong conclusions, the observed prevalence calls up the stakeholders to undertake prevention and control measures.

Key words: Prevalence, smear positive tuberculosis, smokers, patients.