Abstract
Evaluate the Tuberculosis (TB) surveillance system in the Ga West Municipality to determine if it is achieving its objectives, and to assess its attributes and usefulness. Descriptive analysis of primary and secondary data. Stakeholder interviews and record reviews on the objectives and operation of the surveillance system at all levels of the system. We evaluated the system's operation from 2011-2015 using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated guidelines for evaluating public health surveillance systems and the World Health Organisation (WHO) TB surveillance checklist for assessing the performance of national surveillance systems. The TB surveillance system in the municipality was functional and operated at all levels for timely detection of cases, accurate diagnosis, and case management. The system improved management of TB/HIV co-infections. The average time taken to confirm a suspected TB case was one day. The registration of a confirmed case and subsequent treatment happen immediately after confirmation. The municipality detected 109 of 727 TB cases in 2015 (case detection rate=15%). The positive predictive value (PPV) was 6.4%. There was one diagnostic centre in the municipality. Private facilities involvement in TB surveillance activities was low (1/15). The Tuberculosis surveillance system in the Ga West Municipality is well structured but partially meeting its objectives. The system is timely, stable and acceptable by most stakeholders and useful at all levels. It has no major data quality issues. Private health facilities in the municipality should be well incorporated into TB surveillance. This work was supported by Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (GFELTP), University of Ghana through the support of the West Africa Health Organization (Ref.: Prog/A17IEpidemSurveillN° 57212014/mcrt) to B-YA.
Highlights
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infection of the lungs and other organs caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Tuberculosis ranks alongside Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection as a leading cause of death globally with an estimated 9.6 million new cases occurring globally and 1.5 million deaths in 2014.2 In 2014, HIV-associated TB deaths accounted for 25% of all TB deaths and one third of the estimated 1.2 million deaths from HIV/AIDS.[3]
The legal authority for data collection at all levels of the surveillance system resides in the National Tuberculosis Control Programme (NTP) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) whose mandate is to provide leadership for the health sector response to fight tuberculosis in Ghana
Summary
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infection of the lungs and other organs caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB is transmitted from person-to-person by droplet infection through coughing, sneezing, or spitting.[1] Tuberculosis ranks alongside Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection as a leading cause of death globally with an estimated 9.6 million new cases occurring globally and 1.5 million deaths in 2014.2 In 2014, HIV-associated TB deaths accounted for 25% of all TB deaths and one third of the estimated 1.2 million deaths from HIV/AIDS.[3] In Africa, there was an estimated 2.7 million new cases of tuberculosis with 760,000 deaths in 2014 (which includes an estimated 310,000 TB deaths among HIV positive people).[4] In Ghana, TB mortality rate was considered high at 38 per 100,000 people in 2014.5. The problem of low case detection has been a priority of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and Ghana’s National www.ghanamedj.org Volume 54 Number 2 Supplement June 2020
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