The South African Ministry of Health has proposed
screening all clinic attendees for tuberculosis (TB).
Amongst other factors, male sex and bar attendance are
associated with higher TB risk. We show that 45% of
adults surveyed in Western Cape attended a clinic within
6 months, and therefore potentially a relatively high proportion
of the population could be reached through clinic-based
screening. However, fewer than 20% of all men
aged 18–25 years, or men aged 26–45 who attend bars,
attended a clinic. The population-level impact of clinic-based
screening may be reduced by low coverage
among key risk groups