Mycobacterium tuberculosis and rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis among tuberculosis presumptive patients in selected zones of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia, 2016–2019

IntroductionTuberculosis (TB) is the second leading cause of mortality from an infectious disease worldwide. Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), where rifampicin-resistant TB is the biggest contributor, remains a global health threat. There is scant data on MTB and rifampicin resistance (RR-MTB) using Gene Xpert MTB/RIF assay in Ethiopia. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of MTB and RR-MTB among presumptive TB patients in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia.MethodsA multi-center retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2019 to December 2019 among presumptive MTB patients from four hospitals in Tigray. Records of sputum sample results of presumptive MTB patients analyzed with Gene Xpert MTB/RIF assay from January 2016 to December 2019 were investigated. Data were extracted using a data-extraction tool from registration books and analyzed using SPSS ver.21. Statistically significant was set at p-value ≤0.05.ResultsFrom 17,329 presumptive adult MTB patients who had submitted sputum samples for TB diagnosis, 16,437 (94.9 %) had complete records and were included in the study. More than half (60.2 %) of them were males and ages ranged from 18 to 98 years. Majority of the participants: 15,047(91.5 %) were new cases and 11,750 (71.5 %) were with unknown HIV status. Prevalence of MTB was 9.7 % (95 % CI: 9.2–10.2 %) of these, rifampicin resistant-MTB was 8.7 % (95 % CI: 7.32–10.09 %). Age (being >29 years) p < 0.001 and new cases AOR = 0.46; 95%CI = 0.39, 0.53, p < 0.001 were associated with low TB infection. Age groups of 18–29 years were associated with higher RR-MTB AOR = 3.08; 95 % CI = 1.07, 8.72, p = 0.036.ConclusionNearly one-tenth of the presumptive tuberculosis patients tested positive for MTB; out of these, 8.7 % were RR-MTB. The high prevalence of TB and RR-MTB at a young age and previously treated cases calls for a concerted effort to improve and monitor TB treatment to reduce the problem.