Yield of tuberculosis among household contacts of tuberculosis patients in Accra, Ghana.

Background: The End TB Strategy calls for systematic screening of selected high-risk groups including contacts of tuberculosis (TB) cases to facilitate early TB case detection. Contact investigation is not usually routinely practiced in low TB burden countries, such as Ghana, with consequent paucity of data on the yield of TB case detection from such interventions. This study's objective was to document the outcomes and feasibility of implementing contact investigation activities under programmatic conditions in Ghana.

Provider initiated tuberculosis case finding in outpatient departments of health care facilities in Ghana: yield by screening strategy and target group.

Background: Meticulous identification and investigation of patients presenting with tuberculosis (TB) suggestive symptoms rarely happen in crowded outpatient departments (OPDs). Making health providers in OPDs diligently follow screening procedures may help increase TB case detection. From July 2010 to December 2013, two symptom based TB screening approaches of varying cough duration were used to screen and test for TB among general outpatients, PLHIV, diabetics and contacts in Accra, Ghana.