Background As part of ongoing efforts to generate evidence needed on HIV and tuberculosis (TB) to inform policies and programs aimed to improve the health outcomes of migrants and communities affected by migration and mining, a preliminary investigation was conducted through a biological and behavioral (BBS) approach related to HIV and TB in two communities of origin of migrant mineworkers in Gaza Province. The main objective was to determine the prevalence of HIV and the rates of asymptomatic infection by TB, and the social and behavioral risk factors associated. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted from May to June 2017 using a simple random sampling methodology. Eligible participants were individuals who were living in the community at the time the survey was conducted, which included adult mine workers and members of their families aged 18 and above. A socio-behavioral questionnaire was administered, blood specimens were collected for HIV testing (Determine/Unigold) and sputum for TB (GeneXpert MTB/RIF) was collected. The statistical analysis was performed using the R studio software to produce means, proportion and odds ratio at 95% confidence intervals. Results A total of 1012 participants were enrolled, 75.2% were females, with a median age of 34. The overall prevalence of HIV found in the two communities was 24.2% (CI: 21.6-27.0) and was higher in the rural community (31.6%; 95% CI: 27.0-35.3). The prevalence of active TB was found to be 0.3% (n = 3) while 7.5% of the participants self-reported to have been previously diagnosed with TB at some point in their life. Only 2.8% of participants had knowledge

There are many challenges that impact the current referral network for Tuberculosis (TB) sputum specimens in Mozambique. In some cases, health facilities are remote and the road infrastructure is poor and at times impassable, leading to delays in laboratory specimen transportation and long turn-around times for results. Drone transportation is a promising solution to reduce transportation time and improve access to laboratory diagnostics if the sample quality is not compromised during transport. This study evaluated the impact of drone transportation on the quality of TB sputum specimens with suspected Mycobacterium tuberculosis. 156 specimens were collected at five (5) health centers and sent to the Instituto Nacional de Saúde (INS) National TB Reference Laboratory. Specimens were then equally divided into two aliquots; one to be transported on land and the other by air using a drone. Control and study group specimens were processed using the NALC-NaOH method. Agreement between sample and control specimens was acceptable, indicating that drone transportation did not affect the quality of TB specimens. The authors recommend additional studies to validate drone transportation of TB specimens over a longer period of time to give further confidence in the adoption of drone delivery in Mozambique.