The goal of this study is to find out if using mobile vans with advanced technology can help reduce tuberculosis (TB) in rural Guangxi, China. The study will also examine how practical and cost-effective this approach is. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1) Does this new screening method lower the number of TB cases among high-risk groups? and 2) Is this method practical and acceptable for communities and healthcare workers? Participants in the study will: 1) undergo TB screening with mobile vans that use artificial intelligence (AI) to read chest X-rays, 2) answer a short questionnaire about their symptoms and health history, and 3) provide sputum samples for GeneXpert testing if needed.
Some communities will receive the new screening method, while others will continue with usual care. Researchers will compare TB rates in the two groups over three years to see if the new approach works better for TB control. If successful, this method could be used to improve TB control in other areas.
all residents who are elderly (i.e., aged 65 and above)
all residents who are aged 15 to 64 with one of the following conditions: being patients previously treated for TB or close contacts of a patient with a TB patient diagnosed within the last three years; having been clinically diagnosed with diabetes, HIV positive, or worked as a miner
Have signed consent form
Residents who refuse participation.
University of Toronto
Lead sponsor
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Center for Disease Prevention and Control
Collaborator