Background: A single 2-year National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cycle is designed to provide accurate and stable estimates of conditions with prevalence of at least 10%. Recent NHANES-based estimates of a tuberculin skin test (TST) ≥10 mm in the noninstitutionalized US civilian population are at most 6.3%. Methods: NHANES included a TST in 1971-1972, 1999-2000, and 2011-2012. We examined the robustness of NHANES-based estimates of the US population prevalence of a skin test ≥10 mm with a bias analysis that considered the influence of non-US birth distributions and within-household skin test results, reclassified borderline-positive results, and adjusted for TST item nonresponse. Results: The weighted non-US birth distribution among NHANES participants was similar to that in the overall US population; further adjustment was unnecessary. We found no evidence of bias due to sampling multiple participants per household. Prevalence estimates changed 0.3% with reclassification of borderline-positive TST results and 0.2%-0.3% with adjustment for item nonresponse. Conclusions: For estimating the national prevalence of a TST ≥10 mm during these three survey cycles, a conventional NHANES analysis using the standard participant weights and masked design parameters that are provided in the public-use datasets appears robust. See video abstract at, http://links.lww.com/EDE/B636.

Introduction: Diabetes might confer a modestly increased risk of latent tuberculosis infection, which without treatment can progress to active tuberculosis disease. Three recent analyses of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found a positive association between diabetes and a positive test for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. This study examines whether prevalence of a positive test still varies by diabetes status after stratifying by race/ethnicity. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis used the public-use National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011–2012 data sets and was conducted in 2018–2019. Interview and examination results for 5,560 adult participants yielded estimates for 219 million U.S. adults in the 4 largest race/ethnicity groups. The weighted prevalence of positive tuberculin skin test or interferon-gamma release assay by diabetes status was ascertained in each group. Results: Among white and black adults, diabetes was associated with no difference in positive skin test prevalence and little difference in positive interferon-gamma release assay prevalence. The positive assay prevalence difference was +14.5% (95% CI=2.3%, 26.7%) among Hispanic and +9.9% (95% CI=1.2%, 18.6%) among Asian adults, when comparing those with diabetes with those with neither diabetes nor prediabetes. Based on assay results, 23.6% (95% CI=14.0%, 36.9%) of Hispanic and 27.2% (95% CI=19.6%, 36.5%) of Asian adults with diabetes also had latent tuberculosis infection. Conclusions: Hispanic and Asian subpopulation results drove much of the previously reported positive association between diabetes and a positive test for M. tuberculosis infection. Hispanic and Asian adults with diabetes might particularly benefit from screening and treatment for latent tuberculosis infection.

Background: An elevated risk of tuberculosis (TB) disease in persons who have received tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitor medications (TNF-α inhibitors) has been reported for nearly two decades, but clinical diagnostic features and outcomes of TB in this population remain poorly described. Methods: We analyzed national surveillance data for TB cases among persons aged 15 years and older reported in the United States during 2010-2017 and associated mortality data reported through 2019 to describe the clinical characteristics of those receiving TNF-α inhibitors. Results: Of 70 129 TB cases analyzed, 504 (0.7%) of the patients had TNF-α inhibitor use reported at TB diagnosis. Patients with TNF-α inhibitor use at TB diagnosis were more likely than TB patients not receiving TNF-α inhibitors to have TB diagnosed in extrapulmonary sites in conjunction with pulmonary sites (28.8% vs 10.0%, P < .001). Patients receiving TNF-α inhibitors were less likely to have acid-fast bacilli noted on sputum smear microscopy (25.6% vs 39.1%, P = .04), and more likely to have drug-resistant disease (13.5% vs 10.0%, P < .001). TB-attributed deaths did not significantly differ between patients receiving and not receiving TNF-α inhibitors (adjusted odds ratio, 1.46 [95% confidence interval,. 95-2.26]). Conclusions: Clinicians evaluating TNF-α inhibitor-treated patients should have a high index of suspicion for TB and be aware that extrapulmonary or sputum smear-negative TB disease is more common in these patients. No significantly diminished survival of TB patients treated with TNF-α inhibitor therapy before TB diagnosis was noted.

For the past 2 years the world's attention has rightly been focused on COVID-19, the most lethal pandemic seen for over a century that has amplified the enormous global toll of respiratory tract infections. COVID-19 remains the top cause of death from an infectious disease worldwide, shifting tuberculosis to second place.1 In areas highly endemic with tuberculosis, scarce resources have been moved to the COVID-19 response, which has undermined tuberculosis testing and treatment programmes. The effects of COVID-19 on global tuberculosis control efforts have been catastrophic,1, 2, 3 setting back by several years any progress being made in achieving the WHO End TB Strategy targets by 2030.4 For the first time since 2015, the annual numbers of tuberculosis deaths have started increasing and more than 1·5 million people died of tuberculosis in 2020.1 Furthermore, COVID-19 disruptions to health services have impeded diagnosing and treating everyone with active tuberculosis, drug-resistant tuberculosis, multidrug-resistant or extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, latent tuberculosis, and tuberculosis and HIV co-infection, as well as access to tuberculosis medicines, counselling and follow-up, and lowered treatment adherence.1,3–7 This impedance in turn promotes the development of multidrug-resistant strains of tuberculosis and increases treatment failure rates, suffering, and death. Thus, in the foreseeable future, tuberculosis will continue to pose multiple challenges and negatively impact on already fragile health systems in countries with a high burden of tuberculosis.

Background: The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province of South Africa has the highest prevalence of HIV infection in the world. Viral load (VL) testing is a crucial tool for clinical and programmatic monitoring. Within uMkhanyakude district, VL suppression rates were 91% among patients with VL data; however, VL performance rates averaged only 38·7%. The objective of this study was to determine if enhanced clinic processes and community outreach could improve VL monitoring within this district. Methods: A packaged intervention was implemented at three rural clinics in the setting of the KZN HIV AIDS Drug Resistance Surveillance Study. This included file hygiene, outreach, a VL register and documentation revisions. Chart audits were used to assess fidelity. Outcome measures included percentage VL performed and suppressed. Each rural clinic was matched with a peri-urban clinic for comparison before and after the start of each phase of the intervention. Monthly sample proportions were modelled using quasi-likelihood regression methods for over-dispersed binomial data. Results: Mkuze and Jozini clinics increased VL performance overall from 33·9% and 35·3% to 75·8% and 72·4%, respectively which was significantly greater than the increases in the comparison clinics (RR 1·86 and 1·68, p < 0·01). VL suppression rates similarly increased overall by 39·3% and 36·2% (RR 1·84 and 1·70, p < 0·01). The Chart Intervention phase showed significant increases in fidelity 16 months after implementation. Conclusions: The packaged intervention improved VL performance and suppression rates overall but was significant in Mkuze and Jozini. Larger sustained efforts will be needed to have a similar impact throughout the province.

On March 15, 2020 Puerto Rico implemented non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), including a mandatory curfew, as part of a state of emergency declaration to prevent the community transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The strict enforcement of this curfew was extended through May 25, with a gradual relaxation beginning on May 1. This report summarizes an assessment of these early mitigation measures on the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic in the island. From March 15 to May 15, 2020, 70,656 results of molecular (RT-PCR) tests were reported to the Puerto Rico Department of Health. Of these, 1,704 were positive, corresponding to 1,311 individuals with COVID-19 included in the study. We derived the epidemic growth rates (r) and the corresponding reproductive numbers (R) from the epidemic curve of these 1,311 individuals with laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 using their date of test collection as a proxy for symptoms onset. Through May 31, 2020, there were 143 COVID-19 associated deaths in Puerto Rico, for a case fatality risk of 10.9%. We compared the observed cases and deaths with Gompertz model projections had the mitigation measures not been implemented. The number of daily RT-PCR-confirmed cases peaked on March 30 (85 cases), showing a weekly cyclical trend, with lower counts on weekends and a decreasing secular trend since March 30. The initial exponential growth rate (r) was 15.87% (95% CI: 7.59%, 24.15%), corresponding to R of 1.82 (95% CI:1.37, 2.30). After March 30, the r value reverted to an exponential decay rate (negative) of -2.95% (95% CI: -4.99%, -0.92%), corresponding to R of 0.93 (95% CI: 0.86, 0.98). We estimate that, had the initial growth rate been maintained, a total of 6,155 additional COVID-19 cases would have occurred by May 15, with 211 additional COVID-19 deaths by May 31. These findings are consistent with very effective implementation of early NPIs as mitigation measures in Puerto Rico. These results also provide a baseline to assess the impact of the transition from mitigation to subsequent containment stages in Puerto Rico.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the tuberculosis (TB) mobile teams on treatment outcomes in Riyadh Region by comparing patients who received treatment under mobile teams and those who did not, from 2013 to 2015. This was a retrospective descriptive study using National TB Control and Prevention Program data from 2013 to 2015 from Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Descriptive analyses were used to summarize characteristics of TB case-patients served by mobile teams and those who were not served. The χ2 test measured the significant differences between mobile-served and non-mobile-served case-patients. Exposure was whether or not the TB case-patient was under the care of the mobile team; the outcome of interest was whether or not treatment was successful, defined as treatment completed and cured. We found that the ratio of treatment success among mobile team case-patients was 1.28 greater than among those not served by mobile teams. The χ2 test showed a statistically significant finding (probability ratio = 1.28; 95% confidence interval = 1.21–1.35, p < 0.01). Mobile teams increased the treatment success rate to 92%, compared to 71.77% among those not served by mobile teams. This study shows that community mobilization of mobile teams is an effective strategy to enhance TB treatment, reduced mortality and loss to follow-up and improve TB treatment outcomes.

Background South Africa is home to the world’s largest HIV epidemic. Throughout the world, incarcerated individuals have a higher prevalence of HIV than the general public, and South Africa has one of the highest rates of incarceration in sub-Saharan Africa. In spite of this, little has been published about the burden of HIV and how care is delivered in South African correctional facilities. Objective To estimate the prevalence of people living with HIV and identify initiation and retention in the HIV cascade of care across five correctional facilities. Methods Cross-sectional retrospective analysis of 30,571 adult inmates who participated in a tuberculosis screening and HIV counseling and testing campaign in South African correctional facilities (January 1, 2014—January 31, 2015). Descriptive statistics were used to estimate the proportion and 95% confidence intervals of HIV. Proportions of persons retained and lost at each step in the HIV cascade of care under this intervention were calculated. Poisson regression with robust variance estimates were used, and clustering by facility was accounted for in all analyses. Results Results of the screening campaign found previously undiagnosed HIV among 13.0% of those consenting to screening, with a total estimated HIV prevalence of 17.7% (n = 3,184, 95% CI: 17.2–18.3%) in the sample. When examining the overall cascade of care, 48.3% of those with HIV initiated care, and overall 45.6% of persons who entered care qualified for ART initiated treatment. A Poisson regression accounting for clustering by facility found HIV high risk groups within the population such as women (aRR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.57, 1.89), those over 35 years of age (aRR = 2.43, 95% CI: 1.53, 3.85), and people incarcerated less than one year (aRR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.19, 1.67). Conclusion In this setting, routine screening is recommended, and measures are needed to ensure that persons diagnosed are adequately linked to and retained in care.

BACKGROUND: Following a concerted public health response to the resurgence of tuberculosis (TB) in the United States in the late 1980s, annual TB incidence decreased substantially. However, no estimates exist of the number and cost savings of TB cases averted. METHODS : TB cases averted in the United States during 1995-2014 were estimated: Scenario 1 used a static 1992 case rate; Scenario 2 applied the 1992 rate to foreign-born cases, and a pre-resurgence 5.1% annual decline to US-born cases; and a statistical model assessed human immunodeficiency virus and TB program indices. We applied the cost of illness to estimate the societal benefits (costs averted) in 2014 dollars. RESULT S : During 1992-2014, 368 184 incident TB cases were reported, and cases decreased by two thirds during that period. In the scenarios and statistical model, TB cases averted during 1995-2014 ranged from approximately 145 000 to 319 000. The societal benefits of averted TB cases ranged from US3.1 to US6.7 billion, excluding deaths, and from US6.7 to US14.5 billion, including deaths. CONCLUS IONS : Coordinated efforts in TB control and prevention in the United States yielded a remarkable number of TB cases averted and societal economic benefits. We illustrate the value of concerted action and targeted public health funding.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) Regional Training and Medical Consultation Centers (RTMCCs) were established in 2005 for TB medical consultation, training and education in the United States. A medical consultation database (MCD) captured all consultations provided by RTMCCs; we report on those provided from June 1, 2010 to May 31, 2014. Methods: All MCD consultations during 2010–2014 were categorized into: provider type, setting, consultation topic, and patient age. We analyzed data frequencies and performed subgroup analyses by RTMCC, by TB incidence for the geographical area, and by year of consultation. End-user satisfaction was assessed by a 2016 telephone evaluation of RTMCC services. Results: A total of 11,074 consultations were delivered, with 10,754 (97.1%) in the U.S. and its current or former territories. Of these, 6018 (56%) were for high, 2443 (22.7%) for medium, and 2293 (21.3%) for low TB incidence settings. Most were for adults (81.3%) and answered within 24 h (96.2%). Nearly 2/3 consultations originated from health departments; providers included mostly physicians (44.3%) or nurses (37.6%). Common consult categories included TB disease (47.7%), case management (29.8%), latent TB infection (19.3%), diagnosis (16.1%), pharmacology (14.7%) and adverse side effects (14.3%). Among adverse side effects, hepatotoxicity was most common (39.6%). Volume and nature of consult requests remained relatively stable over the four-year period. Feedback from a 2016 CDC evaluation indicated overall satisfaction with RTMCC medical consultation services. Conclusion: RTMCCS were an important source of TB medical consultation over the time-frame of this assessment and provided quality expert consultation within 24 h. RMTCCs represent a reservoir of TB subject-matter expertise in the United States.