ISSN: 2578-5001
Authors: Aghedo OG and Okoronkwo MO
Background: Tuberculosis is still rampant in Nigeria, and contributes significantly to TB burden globally. This study was conducted with the main objective of determining the trends of TB prevalence, treatment and preventive efforts by the government of Bayelsa State, and providing insight into the level of progress in the fight against TB in the State. Methods: It is a retrospective study of TB programme data consisting of 10,512 patients who accessed healthcare services at the health facilities from 2017 to 2021. Enrolment registers, TB Treatment registers, Test Result Request Forms and Laboratory registers were consulted to obtain accurate data. Additionally, observation of the processes at the various health facilities and the review of TB programme documents, including periodic reports, training manuals, presentation slides and the Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials were conducted to garner information about TB prevention and control efforts in the state. Results: This study finds that there is a consistent reduction in TB prevalence rates from 2017 (23.2%) to 2021 (17.6%). The average cumulative five-year prevalence for all TB cases is 22.4% and 2.8% for Drug-Resistant TB (DR-TB). The results further indicated that less females (9.3%) than males (13.8%) were infected with TB (p<0.05), while the age group 25-34 years recorded the highest TB prevalence. The study participants had a mean age of 31.67 ± 18.59 years. There is a strong evidence that difference in prevalence is statistically significant across sex/gender (X2 = 22.011, df = 4, p-value = 0.0002), age groups (F(7, 24) = 13.871, p = 0.0001), and years ((F(4, 24) = 80.925, p = 0.0001). TB Treatment initiation rate is optimal but declined by 1.7% in 2021. Conclusion: TB Prevalence in Yenagoa is high and intensified TB Case finding, contact tracing efforts are necessary to quickly curb transmission rate. Systematic screening and presumptive TB identification appears inadequate compared to the number of TB cases detected each year.
Keywords: Bayelsa; Yenagoa; Healthcare; Tuberculosis Prevalence; Tuberculosis Treatment
