{"id":13335,"date":"2025-04-02T09:43:29","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T09:43:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mmj.mw\/?p=13335"},"modified":"2025-04-02T09:45:22","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T09:45:22","slug":"characterization-of-mycobacterium-tuberculosis-mtb-positive-individuals-within-the-healthcare-catchment-area-of-mzuzu-central-hospital-malawi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mmj.mw\/?p=13335","title":{"rendered":"Characterization of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (MTB)-Positive Individuals within the Healthcare Catchment Area of Mzuzu Central Hospital, Malawi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ning Zhang1,#<\/sup>, Thomas Stuart Mughogho2,#<\/sup>, Rashid Kaseka2<\/sup>, Dokani Michael Ndovi2<\/sup>, Zhonglin Wang1<\/sup>, Jian Hu1<\/sup>, Xiaoqin Wang1,*<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi\u2019an Jiaotong University, Shaanxi Province, China<\/li>
  2. Laboratory Department, Mzuzu Central Hospital, Luwinga, Mzuzu 2, Malawi<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Both authors are co-first authors and have contributed equally to this work<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    *Corresponding Author<\/strong>: Xiaoqin Wang; Email<\/strong>: wxq1493722680@xjtufh.edu.cn<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Abstract
    Purpose<\/strong>
    To investigate the characteristics of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)-positive population within the healthcare service area of Mzuzu Central Hospital in Malawi, with the objective of providing a scientific foundation for tuberculosis (TB) prevention and control strategies in the region.
    Methods<\/strong>
    This retrospective study encompassed 4,711 patients who underwent GeneXpert (GeneXpert MTB\/RIF or GeneXpert MTB\/RIF Ultra) testing. Data on laboratory results, demographics, HIV status, and residential addresses were analyzed.
    Results<\/strong>
    Among 4,711 patients, 424 (9%) tested MTB-positive. A strong correlation was observed between MTB and HIV infection, as HIV\/TB co-infection accounted for 47.9% of MTB-positive cases (\u03c7\u00b2=46.311, p<0.001). The MTB positivity rate for males, at 12.4% (291\/2341), is significantly higher ( \u03c7\u00b2=66.858, p<0.001) than that for females, which stands at 5.6% (133\/2370), irrespective of HIV status. The age distribution of MTB-positive patients peaked in the 21-55 age bracket, with a median age of 37.0 (29.0, 47.0). The third quarter of each year, particularly September exhibited the highest positivity rate of 13.1%. Within Mzimba District, 87.8% of TB patients resided in Mzuzu city, with Luwinga (21.8%), Mchengautuwa (12.5%), and Zolozolo (9.9%) being the top three townships. Most newly diagnosed cases received treatment (85.1%), but the rifampicin resistance rate (4.7%) exceeded the national average.
    Conclusion<\/strong>
    Within the healthcare catchment area of Mzuzu Central Hospital, MTB infection is significantly associated with HIV. Males show a higher MTB positivity rate than females. The study identifies high-risk age groups, temporal trends, and geographical TB patterns. Rifampicin resistance is a critical issue needing urgent attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Keywords:<\/strong> Mycobacterium tuberculosis, GeneXpert MTB\/RIF Ultra, Demographics distribution, HIV\/TB co-infection, Rifampicin resistance<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
    DOWNLOAD PDF<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Ning Zhang1,#, Thomas Stuart Mughogho2,#, Rashid Kaseka2, Dokani Michael Ndovi2, Zhonglin Wang1, Jian Hu1, Xiaoqin Wang1,* Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi\u2019an Jiaotong University, Shaanxi Province, China Laboratory Department, Mzuzu Central Hospital, Luwinga, Mzuzu 2, Malawi Both authors are co-first authors and have contributed equally to this work *Corresponding Author: Xiaoqin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[134],"tags":[66],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mmj.mw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13335"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mmj.mw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mmj.mw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mmj.mw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mmj.mw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13335"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mmj.mw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13336,"href":"https:\/\/www.mmj.mw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13335\/revisions\/13336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mmj.mw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mmj.mw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mmj.mw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}