Mortality and risk of tuberculosis among people living with HIV in whom TB was initially ruled out

Tuberculosis (TB) misdiagnosis remains a public health concern, especially among people living with HIV (PLHIV), given the high mortality associated with missed TB diagnoses. The main objective of this study was to describe the\xC2\xA0all-cause mortality, TB incidence rates and their\xC2\xA0associated risk factors in a cohort of PLHIV with presumptive TB in whom TB was initially ruled out. We retrospectively followed a cohort of PLHIV with presumptive TB over a 2\xC2\xA0year-period in a rural district in Southern Mozambique. During the study period 382 PLHIV were followed-up. Mortality rate was 6.8/100 person-years (PYs) (95% CI 5.2-9.2) and TB incidence rate was 5.4/100 PYs (95% CI 3.9-7.5). Thirty-six percent of deaths and 43% of TB incident cases occurred in the first 12\xC2\xA0months of the follow up. Mortality and TB incidence rates in the 2-year period after TB was initially ruled out was very high. The\xC2\xA0TB diagnostic work-up and linkage to HIV\xC2\xA0care should be strengthened to decrease TB burden and all-cause mortality among PLHIV with presumptive TB

Aplicaciones de la secuenciación del genoma completo de Mycobacterium tuberculosis para la predicción de resistencias a antibióticos en muestras de Mozambique

Trabajo presentado a las XXVII Jornadas Internacionales sobre Tuberculosis celebradas en Barcelona del 13 al 14 de noviembre de 2023.Peer reviewe

Tuberculosis in Mozambique: Where Do We Stand?

Purpose of Review: Tuberculosis (TB) is a global health concern, and Mozambique is one of the few high burden tuberculosis countries where the estimated TB incidence has not improved in recent years. The objective of this review is to provide a snapshot of the current situation of the TB epidemic in Mozambique, highlighting the main epidemiological features and particularities of TB care and control in the country. Recent Findings: Despite several efforts aimed at improving diagnosis and treatment success, the overall burden of TB, HIV-TB, and multidrug-resistant (MDR)-TB is enormous, with high TB-associated mortality. Improving surveillance is a key step for understanding the TB epidemic in the country, and the first TB prevalence survey is underway. Overall, drug-sensitive and MDR-TB notifications have increased markedly over the last 5 years, likely due in part to a more active case finding approaches, but the diagnosis gap is still substantial. The roll-out of Xpert technology to decentralized settings is improving TB diagnosis in the country, particularly for MDR-TB. Summary: Although some progress has been made in TB control in Mozambique, the challenges for TB control and elimination are enormous. More actively finding cases at health facilities and in communities via contact tracing, improving national surveillance/monitoring and evaluation systems, expanding TB molecular diagnosis, implementing shorter MDR-TB treatments, and improving HIV-TB case management (including rigorous TB screening and higher coverage of preventive therapies in people living with HIV) are considered key priorities for the National TB Control Program

Initiation and adherence to isoniazid preventive therapy in children under 5 years of age in Manhiça, Southern Mozambique

The WHO recommends preventive treatment for all pediatric contacts of a confirmed TB case, but coverage remains low in many high TB burden countries. We aimed to assess the coverage and adherence of the isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) program among children under 5?years of age with household exposure to an adult pulmonary TB case in a rural district of Southern Mozambique. The estimated IPT coverage was 11.7%. A longer distance to the health center and lower age of the children hindered IPT initiation. Among patients who started IPT, 12/18 (69.9%) were adherent to the 6-month treatment. © The Author(s) [2023]. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: [email protected]

Annual Tuberculosis Preventive Therapy for Persons With HIV Infection : A Randomized Trial.

Between November 2016 and November 2017, 4027 participants were enrolled; 4014 were included in the analyses (median age, 41 years; 69.5% women; all using antiretroviral therapy). Treatment completion in the first year for the combined rifapentine-isoniazid groups (n = 3610) was 90.4% versus 50.5% for the isoniazid group (n = 404) (risk ratio, 1.78 [95% CI, 1.61 to 1.95]). Tuberculosis incidence among participants receiving the rifapentine-isoniazid regimen twice (n = 1808) or once (n = 1802) was similar (hazard ratio, 0.96 [CI, 0.61 to 1.50])

Number needed to screen for different study populations.

Number needed to screen for different study populations.</p

Xpatial tb master.

Prompt diagnosis is critical for tuberculosis (TB) control, as it enables early treatment which in turn, reduces transmission and improves treatment outcomes. We investigated the impact on TB diagnosis of introducing Xpert Ultra as the frontline diagnostic test, combined with an innovative active-case finding (ACF) strategy (based on Xpert Ultra semi-quantitative results and spatial parameters), in a semi-rural district of Southern Mozambique. From January-December 2018 we recruited incident TB-cases (index cases, ICs) and their household contacts (HCs). Recruitment of close community contacts (CCs) depended on IC´s Xpert Ultra results, and the population density of their area. TB-contacts, either symptomatic or people living with HIV, were asked to provide a spot sputum for lab-testing. Trends on TB case notification were compared to the previous years and to those of two districts in the south of the Maputo province (control area), using an interrupted time series analysis with and without control (CITS/ITS). A total of 1010 TB ICs (37.1% laboratory-confirmed) were recruited; 3165 HCs and 4730 CCs were screened for TB. Eighty-nine additional TB cases were identified through the ACF intervention (52.8% laboratory-confirmed). The intervention increased by 8.2% all forms of TB cases detected in 2018. Xpert Ultra trace positive results accounted for a high proportion of laboratory confirmations in the ACF cohort (51.1% vs 13.7% of those passively diagnosed). The Number Needed to Screen to find a TB case differed widely among HCs (55) and CCs (153). During the intervention period, a reversal of the previous negative trend in lab-confirmed case notifications was observed in the district. However, the CITS model did not show any statistically significant difference compared to the control area. Paediatric population benefited the most from the ACF strategy and HCs screening seemed an effective intervention to find microbiological confirmed cases in early stages of the disease.</div

Interrupted time-series for single and multiple-group comparison.

Interrupted time-series for single and multiple-group comparison.</p

Comparative of CITS model parameters based on quarterly notification rates for all cases (first column) and just bacteriologically confirmed TB cases (second column), evaluating the Xpatial-TB intervention in comparison with the control area.

Comparative of CITS model parameters based on quarterly notification rates for all cases (first column) and just bacteriologically confirmed TB cases (second column), evaluating the Xpatial-TB intervention in comparison with the control area.</p

Xpatial algorithm.

1 NTP: National TB Programme; 2HCs: household contacts; 3CCs: close community contacts; 4PT: Preventive therapy. The Active Case Finding Intervention had 5 steps: I) HIV testing; (II) Screening of TB symptoms; (III) Ultra testing for those accomplishing criteria (HIV positive regardless symptoms or symptomatic contacts); (IV) identified TB cases were referred to the NTP to started on treatment; (V) children < 5 years old were referred to started preventive therapy.</p