Publication:

Assessing the reach of tuberculosis contact tracing in Mysore district

Background Tuberculosis (TB) is the second-leading infectious killer and the 13th primary cause of global mortality. India alone has one-fifth of the world's TB cases. The world health organization (WHO) recommends contact tracing as an effective tool to identify missing TB cases. It allows for early detection and treatment of active TB, reducing its severity and transmission. The study aims to assess the extent of contact tracing in pulmonary TB patients and identify the factors influencing contact tracing in TB.

Methods The study included a total of 411 notified TB patients from January 2021 to December 2021. From each quarter, nearly 103 individuals were selected. A telephonic survey was conducted to gather information about their contact tracing and sociodemographic details using a semi-structured questionnaire.

Results Out of the total participants, 338 had their family members contact traced, and among those who were traced, 17 individuals were found to be positive for TB. Factors like socioeconomic status, disclosure of disease status to family members, motivation and approach by health workers, awareness of TB transmission to close contacts, family members' interest in getting themselves contact traced, and awareness about contact tracing are found to be statistically significant

Conclusions To combat TB effectively, comprehensive and targeted contact-tracing strategies should be implemented, aiming to identify and support those at risk and reduce the spread of the disease.