Epidemiological characteristics and influencing factors of tuberculosis aggregation in schools in Wuhan, China during 2017-2022.

Background: Wuhan is located in the hinterland of China, in the east of Hubei Province, at the intersection of the Yangtze River and Hanshui River. It is a national historical and cultural city, an important industrial, scientific, and educational base, and a key transportation hub. There are many schools in Wuhan, with nearly a thousand of all kinds. The number of students is ~2.2 million, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the resident population; college or university students account for ~60% of the total student population. The geographical location of these colleges is relatively concentrated, and the population density is relatively high, making it prone to tuberculosis cluster epidemic. Objective: This study analyzed the epidemiological characteristics and influencing factors of tuberculosis aggregation in schools in Wuhan, China, during 2017-2022 to provide the basis for the scientific development of tuberculosis prevention and control strategies and measures in schools. Methods: This study adopted the methods of descriptive epidemiology to analyze the epidemic characteristics of tuberculosis aggregation in schools in Wuhan from January 2017 to December 2022, collecting the relevant data on tuberculosis prevention and control in all kinds of schools in the city using Questionnaire Star, an application of the China network questionnaire survey, and analyze the influencing factors of tuberculosis aggregation by using multifactor logistic regression analysis. Results: From 2017 to 2022, 54 outbreaks of pulmonary tuberculosis aggregation in schools were reported in Wuhan, which involved 37 different schools, including 32 colleges or universities and five senior high schools; 176 cases were reported, among which 73 were positive for pathogens and 18 were rifampicin or izoniazid resistant. The median duration of a single cluster epidemic was 46 (26,368) days. Universities were more prone to cluster outbreaks than middle schools (χ2 = 105.160, P = 0.001), and the incidence rate among male students was higher than that of female students in cluster epidemics (χ2 = 12.970, P = 0.001). The multivariate logistic regression analysis results showed that boarding in school (OR = 7.60) is the risk factor for a tuberculosis cluster epidemic in schools. The small number of students (OR = 0.50), the location of the school in the city (OR = 0.60), carry out physical examinations for freshmen (OR = 0.44), carry out illness absence and cause tracking (OR = 0.05), dormitories and classrooms are regularly ventilated with open windows (OR = 0.16), strict implement the management of sick student's suspension from school (OR = 0.36), and seeking timely medical consultation (OR = 0.32) were the protective factors for a tuberculosis cluster epidemic in schools. Conclusion: We successfully identified the epidemiological characteristics and influencing factors of tuberculosis aggregation in schools in Wuhan. The results revealed the influence and status of various factors and indicated ways for schools to improve their TB prevention and control measures in their daily activities. These measures can effectively help curb the cluster epidemic of tuberculosis in schools.

The Prevalence of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Mainland China: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, drug resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) particularly the emergence of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has become a major public health issue. The most recent study regarding the prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis in mainland China was a meta-analysis published in 2011, and the subjects from the included studies were mostly enrolled before 2008, thus making it now obsolete. Current data on the national prevalence of DR-TB is needed. This review aims to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the status of DR-TB epidemic in mainland China. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies regarding the prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis in mainland China was performed. Pubmed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane central database, the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database were searched for studies relevant to drug-resistant tuberculosis that were published between January 1, 2012 and May 18, 2015. Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (V2.2, Biostat) software was used to analyse the data. RESULTS: A total of fifty-nine articles, published from 2012 to 2015, were included in our review. The result of this meta-analysis demonstrated that among new cases, the rate of resistance to any drug was 20.1% (18.0%-22.3%; n/N = 7203/34314) and among retreatment cases, the rate was 49.8% (46.0%-53.6%; n/N = 4155/8291). Multi-drug resistance among new and retreatment cases was 4.8% (4.0%-5.7%; n/N = 2300/42946) and 26.3% (23.1%-29.7%; n/N = 3125/11589) respectively. The results were significantly heterogeneous (p<0.001, I2 tests). Resistance to isoniazid was the most common resistance observed, and HRSE (H: isoniazid; R: rifampicin; S: streptomycin; E: ethambutol) was the most common form for MDR among both new and retreatment cases. Different drug resistance patterns were found by subgroup analysis according to geographic areas, subject enrolment time, and methods of drug susceptibility test (DST). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of resistance to any drug evidently dropped for both new and retreatment cases, and multi-drug resistance declined among new cases but became more prevalent among retreatment cases compared to the data before 2008. Therefore, drug-resistant tuberculosis, particularly multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis among retreatment TB cases is a public health issue in China that requires a constant attention in order to prevent increase in MDR-TB cases.

A hybrid model for predicting the prevalence of schistosomiasis in humans of Qianjiang City, China.

BACKGROUNDS/OBJECTIVE: Schistosomiasis is still a major public health problem in China, despite the fact that the government has implemented a series of strategies to prevent and control the spread of the parasitic disease. Advanced warning and reliable forecasting can help policymakers to adjust and implement strategies more effectively, which will lead to the control and elimination of schistosomiasis. Our aim is to explore the application of a hybrid forecasting model to track the trends of the prevalence of schistosomiasis in humans, which provides a methodological basis for predicting and detecting schistosomiasis infection in endemic areas. METHODS: A hybrid approach combining the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model and the nonlinear autoregressive neural network (NARNN) model to forecast the prevalence of schistosomiasis in the future four years. Forecasting performance was compared between the hybrid ARIMA-NARNN model, and the single ARIMA or the single NARNN model. RESULTS: The modelling mean square error (MSE), mean absolute error (MAE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of the ARIMA-NARNN model was 0.1869 × 10(-4), 0.0029, 0.0419 with a corresponding testing error of 0.9375 × 10(-4), 0.0081, 0.9064, respectively. These error values generated with the hybrid model were all lower than those obtained from the single ARIMA or NARNN model. The forecasting values were 0.75%, 0.80%, 0.76% and 0.77% in the future four years, which demonstrated a no-downward trend. CONCLUSION: The hybrid model has high quality prediction accuracy in the prevalence of schistosomiasis, which provides a methodological basis for future schistosomiasis monitoring and control strategies in the study area. It is worth attempting to utilize the hybrid detection scheme in other schistosomiasis-endemic areas including other infectious diseases.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding tuberculosis prevention and control:analysis of influencing factors of prevention and control behavior among college students in Wuhan, China / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding tuberculosis prevention and control among college students in Wuhan, China, while analyzing the factors affecting tuberculosis prevention behavior.@*Methods@#Referring to the National KAP Questionnaire for Tuberculosis Prevention and Control among College Students, which was designed by China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 22 colleges and universities in Wuhan were selected using a judgment sampling method, and a questionnaire survey was carried out through the online questionnaire platform. The formation of tuberculosis prevention and control behavior among this population was analyzed by single factor and multi factor Logistic regression.@*Results@#The total awareness rate of KAP regarding tuberculosis prevention and control among college students in Wuhan was 79.69%; the awareness rate of core knowledge was 79.28%, and the passing rate was 92.46%. The correct attitude holding rate was 89.69%, while the passing rate was 90.56%. In respect to correct behavior, the formation rate was 72.11%, with a passing rate of 96.62%. The multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the following factors were more likely to promote tuberculosis prevention and control behaviors that met the target: female college students ( OR =1.86); college students whose father had a primary school education level, junior high school and equivalent, high school and equivalent, and junior high school students ( OR =2.94, 3.05, 3.17, 3.24 ); no history of tuberculosis ( OR =3.32); the passing knowledge of core knowledge ( OR =9.91), and the passing attitude holding score ( OR =7.35)( P <0.05).@*Conclusion@#The overall awareness rate of KAP regarding tuberculosis prevention and control among college students in Wuhan is acceptable,the mainly influenced factors are gender, history of tuberculosis, awareness rate of core knowledge about prevention and control, attitudes and cognition, and parents educational background.

Epidemic characteristics and associated factors of pulmonary tuberculosis aggregation in school in Wuhan during 2017-2020 / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To analyze the epidemiological characteristics and assoicated factors of tuberculosis (TB) aggregation in schools in Wuhan from 2017 to 2020, and to provide scientific basis for school based TB prevention and control strategies.@*Methods@#Questionnaire star was used to collect data on tuberculosis prevention and control in various schools in Wuhan. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the influencing factors of tuberculosis aggregation in schools.@*Results@#A total of 37 outbreaks of tuberculosis aggregation in schools were reported in Wuhan from 2017 to 2020, which involved 28 different schools, including 24 colleges and universities and 4 senior high schools, 176 cases were reported, among which 39 were positive for pathogens and 17 cases of rifampicin resistant, and the median duration of single cluster epidemic was 48 (28, 368) days, universities were more prone to cluster outbreaks than middle schools ( χ 2=75.27, P <0.01), the incidence in male was higher than that of in female in cluster outbreak ( χ 2=22.82, P =0.00). The results of multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that boarding school ( OR =5.12), TB screening at school entry ( OR =3.27), etiology tracking and registrationin school ( OR =7.28), treatment and isolation of sick students on time ( OR =9.12), whether the dormitories and classrooms were often ventilated ( OR =4.97), and whether the management of school suspension and return was strictly implemented ( OR =4.68) were associated with the occurrence of TB cluster outbreak( P <0.05).@*Conclusion@#Schools should actively strive for policies and funding, strictly implement TB screening and physical examination for freshmen, as well as the management of contact tracing and registeration, targeted TB health education, guidance for teachers and students for cleaning, disinfection and hand hygiene, timely treatment and reporting of suspected symptoms, to prevent the occurrence of TB clustering outbreaks.

Delay in treatment and influencing factors of student tuberculosis patients in Wuhan from 2011 to 2018 / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To understand delay in treatment student tuberculosis (TB) patients in Wuhan from 2011 to 2018, and to provide a reference for prevention and control measures of tuberculosis in schools.@*Methods@#The medical cases of students with tuberculosis in Wuhan recorded by the national tuberculosis management information system during 2011-2018 were analyzed for the delay and change trend of medical treatment of students with tuberculosis, and Logistic regression was used to analyze influencing factors.@*Results@#The median number of student TB patients seeking treatment in Wuhan was 9(3,21) days, and 51.14% of student TB patients were delayed. From 2011 to 2018, the overall delay rate of TB patients in students decreased slowly and then gradually increased, decrea sing from the highest rate (56.4%) in 2011 to the lowest one (45.6%) in 2014, and then gradually increased to 53.8% in 2018, there was no significant difference in the delay rate between the first and the second four years(χ2=2.84, P=0.09); The delay rate of different gender students was the same as that of the whole. The fluctuation of female students was slightly obvious, but the difference was not statistically significant(χ2=0.07, P>0.05); Among the students of different age groups, the delay rate of 13-18 years old was the lowest(χ2=87.23, P<0.01). The delay rate of 19-22 years old and university groups of different school levels showed a slow decline, while that of other age groups and other school level groups showed an overall upward trend. The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the main factors affecting the delay rate of medical treatment were the remote urban area(OR=1.84, 95%CI=1.56-2.16), the ethnic minorities (OR=2.73, 95%CI=1.46-5.09) and the age of 13-18(OR=0.57, 95%CI=0.33-1.00).@*Conclusion@#Delay in treatment of TB patients in Wuhan is not optimistic, with more than half of the students have delayed in treatment, the main factors that affect the high rate of TB patients’ treatment delay are the students in the far urban areas and ethnic minorities. It is very important to take targeted prevention and control measures to guide the students to actively seek medical treatment according to the time, the place and the person.