ObjectiveSeasonal variations affect the health system’s functioning, including tuberculosis (TB) services, but there is little evidence about seasonal variations in TB case notification in tropical countries, including Ethiopia. This study sought to fill this gap in knowledge using TB data reported from 10 zones, 5 each from Amhara and Oromia regions.MethodsNotified TB cases for 2010–2016 were analyzed using SPSS version 20. We calculated the quarterly and annual average TB case notification rates and the proportion of seasonal amplitudes. We applied Winters’ multiplicative method of exponential smoothing to break down the original time series into seasonal, trend, and irregular components and to build a suitable model for forecasting.ResultsA total of 205,575 TB cases were identified (47.8% from Amhara, 52.2% from Oromia), with a male-to-female ratio of 1.2:1. The means of 8,200 (24%), 7,992 (23%), 8,849 (26%), and 9,222 (27%) TB cases were reported during July-September, October-December, January-March, and April-June, respectively. The seasonal component of our model indicated a peak in April-June and a trough in October-December. The seasonal amplitude in Amhara region is 10% greater than that of Oromia (p < 0.05).ConclusionsTB is shown to be a seasonal disease in Ethiopia, with a peak in quarter four and a low in quarter two of the fiscal year. The peak TB case notification rate corresponds with the end of the dry season in the two agrarian regions of Ethiopia. TB prevention and control interventions, such as efforts to increase community TB awareness about TB transmission and contact tracing, should consider seasonal variation. Regional variations in TB seasonality may require consideration of geographic-specific TB case-finding strategies. The mechanisms underlying the seasonal variation of TB are complex, and further study is needed.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem. Its magnitude the required interventions are affected by changes in socioeconomic condition and urbanization. Ethiopia is among the thirty high burden countries with increasing effort to end TB. We aimed to describe the case notification rate (CNR) for urban tuberculosis (TB) and estimate the percentage of TB patients who are not from the catchment population. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from TB registers from 2014/15 to 2017/18. We calculated the CNR and treatment success rate for the study area. Results: Of 2892 TB cases registered, 2432 (84%) were from Adama City, while 460 (16%) were from other sites. The total TB CNR (including TB cases from Adama and other sites) was between 153 and 218 per 100,000 population. However, the adjusted TB CNR (excluding cases outside Adama City) was lower, between 135 and 179 per 100,000. Of 1737 TB cases registered, 1652 (95%) were successfully treated. About 16% of TB cases notified contributing to CNR of 32 per 100,000 population is contributed by TB cases coming from outside of Adama city. The CNR of 32 per 100,000 population (ranging from 18 to 46 per 100,000) for Adama City was from the patients that came from the surrounding rural areas who sought care in the town. Conclusion: Although the TB CNR in Adama City was higher than the national CNR, about one-fifth of TB cases came from other sites-which led to overestimating the urban CNR and underestimating the CNR of neighboring areas. TB programs should disaggregate urban TB case notification data by place of residence to accurately identify the proportion of missed cases.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this analysis was to derive potential gonorrhea screening criteria for women. METHODS: Data corresponding to 44,366 gonorrhea cultures from women 15 through 44 years of age in Columbus, Ohio, were analyzed. RESULTS: Characteristics that were associated with gonococcal infection and were suitable for screening decisions included patient's age and marital status and previous prevalence of gonorrhea at provider site. Probabilities of infection ranged from .001 for married women 25 through 44 years of age at low-prevalence provider sites to .078 for unmarried women 15 through 19 years of age at high-prevalence sites. CONCLUSIONS: Patient's age and marital status and prevalence of gonorrhea at provider site can be used as indicators to ensure testing of high-prevalence groups.