TB-Ghana

Evaluation of the Tuberculosis Surveillance System in Ghana

Under-registration and under-notification of tuberculosis (TB) cases has implications for TB control as it leads to the accumulation of undetected infected individuals who then become a threat to society. There are inconsistencies in TB case detection estimates between Ghanaian national survey results and what is notified to the National TB Control Programme. The national survey revealed a pool of TB cases in the population, but only 35% are currently being detected. A possible explanation might be that there are gaps in the data collection system leading to loss of data or under-reporting.

This study aims at making use of a capture-recapture method to evaluate the completeness of TB case registration data by conducting audit of 3 levels of data collection sources including laboratory, district and sub-district health facility TB registry data. The study also aims to collect primary data from pharmacies and over-the-counter medicine sellers through telephone interview to assess their contribution to TB case detection in Ghana.

Data collection for the capture-recapture project was completed in 2018 in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Telephone interviews for the second part of the project commenced in March 2019. It is scheduled to interview up to 850 pharmacists and over-the-counter medicine sellers from 24 districts in the Eastern Region of Ghana.

The Statement of Informed Consent from the Study Protocol is found here.

PhD student involved

Ms. Mavis Pearl Kwabla (PhD programme "Epidemiology")

Funding

Ghanaian-German Postgraduate Training Programme (DAAD)

Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI)