The Incidence and Epidemiology of Tuberculosis in Sistan Region: an Update to Past Researches

Abstract

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic disease which spreads through respiration and develops lesions in lung or other organs. The most usual kind of TB is pulmonary TB. The highest incidence rate of TB is in the eastern neighbors of Iran rendering high TB incidence in Sistan and Baluchistan province of Iran. The current research was conducted to investigate the epidemiology of TB in the north of the province, the Sistan region. Methods: In this survey, data of all suspected and established TB cases in the Zabol city was collected from their profiles in health care centers during 2010-2013. The trend of the disease, and its prevalence based on residency and gender were assessed. Results: In this period of time, a total of 1800 TB cases were detected. Of these, 485 (27%) were from urban areas and 1315 (73%) were from rural areas. The trend of TB identification increased with a slope of nearly 46.4. In this research, the most resistance to drug was related to Isoniazid and Rifampin and the least resistance was to ethambutol and streptomycin. Conclusion: Dust storms in this area because of successive droughts and other living conditions can make the region susceptible to TB disease. Therefore, people in this area, especially in rural regions, should be given sufficient education to be protected against this infection.

Keywords

• Epidemiology
• Sistan
• Tuberculosis