Confirmation of Symptomatic Tuberculosis Using Gene Xpert (MTB/RIF) among Patients within Zuru Emirate Council, Kebbi State, Nigeria

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infectious disease which is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and is spread from person to person via airborne droplets. It is among the 12 Global diseases of epidemic importance that need periodic surveillance for better prevention and control. It primarily affects the lungs. Gene Xpert MTB/RIF (GXMR) is an automated, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for detecting TB as well as rifampicin resistance (RIFR). It remains the only fully automated cartridge-based test which can detect both TB and RIFR in less than two hours. This survey aimed at assessing GXMR among symptomatic TB patients within Zuru Emirate Council, Kebbi State. It was a prospective cross-sectional survey conducted among 185 GXMR attendees at Martha Bamaiyi General Hospital Zuru. GXMR test was conducted for all the participants. IBM SPSS Statistics version 20 Statistical Software was used for statistical analysis. The prevalence of TB and RIFR were 32 (17.3%) and 0 (0%) respectively. Among sex, males had a higher prevalence of 19 (59.4%) than females 13 (40.6%). For prevalence among age groups, 15 (46.9%) was the highest in the 25-34 years group. The overall prevalence of HIV was 40 (21.62%) while the prevalence of HIV among TB positive patients was 4 (12.5%). Among the local government areas, Danko/Wasagu had the highest prevalence of 17 (53.1%) followed by Zuru 7 (21.9%) while Fakai and Sakaba had the least prevalence of 4 (12.5%) respectively. The rural settlement had the highest prevalence of 18 (56.3%) while urban and semi-urban had 7 (21.85%) respectively. The study indicates the need to aggressively deploy personnel and chemotherapeutic facilities to cover the population in the area.