The Epidemiology of Smear Positive Tuberculosis in Three TB/HIV High Burden Provinces of Kenya (2003–2009)

Abstract

Interest in epidemiology of tuberculosis in Sub-Sahara Africa has been activated by its reemergence in the mid-1990s because HIV and poverty have created a lethal combination that propagates TB transmission. Three provinces of Kenya that collectively contribute to about 56% of TB cases notified in Kenya were included in the study. Data for smear positive TB and TB HIV was extracted from existing database between 2003 and 2009. Data was analyzed to produce trends for each of the provinces, and descriptive statistics were calculated. To deduce existence of differences in gender, provinces, and years, analysis of variance was carried out with values and confidence intervals generated. There were more males (56%) than females affected by TB, but more females with dual infection. Females have a bimodal peak in age groups 15–24 and 25–34, while males have one peak age group at 15–24. The rate of decline for males was higher than for females. Significant differences were found in gender (), year (), and rate of HIV positivity across the provinces (). Declining trend in cases is attributed to effects of integrating TB and HIV services and therefore programs need to address barriers to integrate care.