Ethiopia – TB Screening in Pastoralist Communities with OneStopTB Clinic
Pastoralist communities in Ethiopia face significant barriers to accessing TB screening and diagnostic services. Mobile TB screening was introduced to improve reach in underserved regions.
Mobile TB screening for pastoralist communities
Mobile vans equipped with digital X-ray and CAD4TB were deployed to pastoralist communities.
Multi-region deployment
Screening activities were conducted across four regions in Ethiopia.
Result
In six months from July to December 2021, over 5,400 people were reached. Of these,
3
,749 people
screened with digital X-ray and CAD4TB
1
,016 people
identified as presumptive TB and tested
- 119 (11.7%) were bacteriologically confirmed with TB and 46 (27%) were clinically diagnosed with TB.
- All of them initiated TB care.
Conclusion
- The results raise the interest in Ethiopia to increase the use of such new technologies nationwide, including in urban areas, to improve TB screening and TB elimination studies.
REFERENCE: D. Gemechu (2022, August 31). “Introduction of CAD4TB in Ethiopian NTLP” in Delft Imaging webinar, August 31st, 2022.