Decline in prevalence of tuberculosis following an intensive case finding campaign and the COVID-19 pandemic in an urban Ugandan community.

Background: Systematic screening is a potential tool for reducing the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) and counteracting COVID-19-related disruptions in care. Repeated community-wide screening can also measure changes in the prevalence of TB over time.

Methods: We conducted serial, cross-sectional TB case finding campaigns in one community in Kampala, Uganda, in 2019 and 2021.

Methods for measuring short-term geographical mobility used in infectious disease research: a scoping review protocol.

Introduction: Geographical mobility, the movement of individuals or populations, may increase an individual's risk of acquiring or transmitting infectious diseases, including HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and COVID-19. Many studies have collected information on short-term mobility through self-reported travel histories or using GPS trackers, but there has been no consistent conceptualisation and operationalisation of such geographical mobility in global health research. This protocol aims to describe and synthesise different approaches to measuring short-term mobility.

Demographic and Geographic Characterization of Excess Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Baltimore City, Maryland, March 2020 to March 2021.

Estimates of excess mortality can provide insight into direct and indirect impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic beyond deaths specifically attributed to COVID-19. We analyzed death certificate data from Baltimore City, Maryland, from March 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021, and found that 1,725 individuals (95% confidence interval: 1,495, 1,954) died in excess of what was expected from all-cause mortality trends in 2016-2019; 1,050 (61%) excess deaths were attributed to COVID-19. Observed mortality was 23%-32% higher than expected among individuals aged 50 years and older.

Number Needed to Screen for Tuberculosis Disease Among Children: A Systematic Review.

Context: Improving detection of pediatric tuberculosis (TB) is critical to reducing morbidity and mortality among children.

Objective: We conducted a systematic review to estimate the number of children needed to screen (NNS) to detect a single case of active TB using different active case finding (ACF) screening approaches and across different settings.

Data Sources: We searched 4 databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library) for articles published from November 2010 to February 2020.

Characterization of geographic mobility among participants in facility- and community-based tuberculosis case finding in urban Uganda.

Background: International and internal migration are recognized risk factors for tuberculosis (TB). Geographic mobility, including travel for work, education, or personal reasons, may also play a role in TB transmission, but this relationship is poorly defined. We aimed to define geographic mobility among participants in facility- and community-based TB case finding in Kampala, Uganda, and to assess associations between mobility, access to care, and TB disease.

The Spectrum of Tuberculosis Disease in an Urban Ugandan Community and Its Health Facilities.

Background: New, sensitive diagnostic tests facilitate identification and investigation of milder forms of tuberculosis (TB) disease. We used community-based TB testing with the Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra assay ("Ultra") to characterize individuals with previously undiagnosed TB and compare them to those from the same community who were diagnosed with TB through routine care.

Methods: We offered community-based sputum Ultra testing to adult residents of a well-defined area (population 34 000 adults) in Kampala, Uganda, via door-to-door screening and venue-based testing, then used detailed interview and laboratory testing to characterize TB-positive individuals.

Spatial distribution of people diagnosed with tuberculosis through routine and active case finding: a community-based study in Kampala, Uganda.

Background: Routine tuberculosis (TB) notifications are geographically heterogeneous, but their utility in predicting the location of undiagnosed TB cases is unclear. We aimed to identify small-scale geographic areas with high TB notification rates based on routinely collected data and to evaluate whether these areas have a correspondingly high rate of undiagnosed prevalent TB.

Methods: We used routinely collected data to identify geographic areas with high TB notification rates and evaluated the extent to which these areas correlated with the location of undiagnosed cases during a subsequent community-wide active case finding intervention in Kampala, Uganda.

Is distance associated with tuberculosis treatment outcomes? A retrospective cohort study in Kampala, Uganda.

Background: Challenges accessing nearby health facilities may be a barrier to initiating and completing tuberculosis (TB) treatment. We aimed to evaluate whether distance from residence to health facility chosen for treatment is associated with TB treatment outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all patients initiating TB treatment at six health facilities in Kampala from 2014 to 2016.