Abstract
Sputum examination by house-to-house collection and chest radiography by a mobile unit of people with respiratory symptoms have been used in a new case-finding programme in Chiayi Region of Taiwan. Lay tuberculosis workers were employed to visit the houses, collect and examine sputum specimens and organize the radiography sessions. The mobile x-ray unit visited each area twice a year. During 1971, 512 villages were visited and 20,452 adults with respiratory symptoms registered. One hundred and forty-four persons with sputum positive on microscopy were discovered by the house-to-house sputum collection. A further 86 microscopy-positive were found by examining sputum from those with x-ray abnormalities and 51 positive only by laryngeal swab culture. Thus, 281 bacteriologically confirmed cases of pulmonary tuberculosis were found (9·0 per 1000 registered), 51 % at the first home visit. The method allows both rapid identification of sources of infection in the community and later identification of bacteriologically positive cases among persons who were unable to provide sputum specimens initially. Of the total of 230 with sputum positive on microscopy, 63 % were found at the first home visit and chemotherapy could be started without delay.
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