Abstract:
ABSTRACT Tuberculosis is a major health problem in Sudan, a country that carries 11–15% of the tuberculosis burden
in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology of tuberculosis in River Nile
State and to compare treatment outcomes with WHO recommended indicators. A descriptive study was conducted
on data collected from records of 1221 patients registered at tuberculosis management units over the 3 years 2011–
2013. The mean age of cases was 37.7 (SD 21.5) years and 65.9% were males; 76.3% were pulmonary tuberculosis
and 36.9% were sputum smear-positive cases. Average values for all outcome indicators were suboptimal, notably
rates of case notification (30.8 per 100
000), case detection (10.3%), treatment success (79.6%), treatment failure
(3.0%), default (8.1%) and death (8.0%). Of the 264 patients tested for HIV, 3.8% were positive. Outcome indicators
for the national tuberculosis control programme are lagging behind the required targets.
2011-2013
