Tuberculosis epidemiology and control in Veracruz, Mexico

Abstract

This region of Mexico has persistently high TB rates despite a DOT-based TB control programme which achieves an overall cure rate of 77%. There exist many retreatment cases for whom cure rates are significantly lower. These cases may serve as a core group for the dissemination of drug resistant TB. The control programme is being reinforced by a nominal register of patients, decreasing administrative barriers for drug supply to individual patients and the availability of mycobacteria cultures. In addition to these measures, in regions which are approaching the levels of efficacy recommended by the WHO it may be appropriate to consider focusing efforts on the identification and treatment of chronic cases.

Retreatment tuberculosis in a South African community: the role of re-infection, HIV and antiretroviral treatment

“…A new TB case was defined as a first-time TB diagnosis 1 , with initiation of treatment. Treatment failure was defined when sputum remained auramine-positive at the end of treatment.…”

“…Retreatment tuberculosis (TB) is a TB episode occurring in patients who have received prior TB treatment 1 . In Cape Town, South Africa, retreatment TB has consistently accounted for 30% of notified TB cases over a seven year period 2 .…”

Tuberculosis-Related Deaths within a Well-Functioning DOTS Control Program

“…The study site, described previously (5,6,9), is located in a predominantly urban region in the Orizaba Health Jurisdiction in the state of Veracruz, which encompasses 134 square km and has a population of 284,728 (10). The incidence rate of TB during the year 2000 for the state was higher than that for the nation (28.0 vs. 15.9 per 100,000 inhabitants) (11).…”

“…Previous reports have documented the TB control program approaches World Health Organization benchmarks (5) and drug resistance is considerable and has an important negative impact on treatment outcomes (6). We now report the short- and long- term mortality rates due to TB in this cohort of TB patients.…”

Discrepancias entre los datos ofrecidos por la Secretaría de Salud y la Organización Mundial de la Salud sobre tuberculosis en México, 1981-1998

“…Adicionalmente, no todos los casos tratados se notifican oficialmente. En un estudio realizado en Orizaba, Veracruz, se documentó que 21% de los casos de tuberculosis diagnosticados y tratados por los diferentes sistemas de salud no eran notificados, 15 problema que probablemente se presente en otros lugares del país. Puede suceder también que en los reportes se mezclan los casos prevalentes (fracasos terapéuticos, recaídas y casos crónicos o multifármacorresistentes) con los incidentes, sin una especificación precisa.…”