Prevalence of smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis among patients attending Seka Health Center, Jimma, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Abstract

Objective: Tuberculosis (TB) a chronic infectious disease is caused in most cases by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) which are acid fast, rod shaped bacilli. Occasionally TB can also be caused by Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) and Mycobacterium africanum (M. africanum). TB is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in the horn of Africa with Ethiopia carrying a heavy burden; it is the third most populous country in Africa and numbers eight in the countries with highest TB burden in the world. In Ethiopia, the number of TB cases has also been rising rapidly with an increase from 55,000 to 100,000 reported new cases in the last ten years This study was conducted in order to determine the prevalence of smear positive PTB and its associated risk factors among suspected patients attending Seka health center, Jimma, Ethiopia in February 2010 so as to provide base line data for control and prevention measures by concerned governmental or service institutions.
Methods: A convenience sampling technique was used in this cross sectional study that included 160 (105(65.6%) males and 55(34.4%) females) consenting patients requesting for AFB at Saka health center, Jimma, Ethiopia.
Results: There was statically significant association between PTB prevalence rate and drinking habit of raw milk (ô2=8.99, pv=0.003, smoking behavior (ô2=25.2, P=0.000; p<0.05), contact history of PTB (ô2=9.85, pv=0.002) and occupational status (ô2=17, p=0.004; p<0.005).
Conclusion: A prevalence PTB rate of 10.625% was observed; 105(65.6%) were males and 55(34.4%) were females. Recommendations: The community be educated on boiling milk before drinking it, the dangers of smoking behavior, the importance of recognizing early symptoms and subsequent decrease of contact history with suspected PTB cases and the risks of exposure involved and ways of possible minimization of PTB spread.