Affiliations 

  • 1 TB/Leprosy Control Unit, Sabah State Health Department, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
  • 2 Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
  • 3 Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
  • 4 Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia
  • 5 Infectious Diseases Society of Kota Kinabalu, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
  • 6 Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia. christopher.lowbridge@menzies.edu.au
Infect Dis Poverty, 2020 Aug 26;9(1):119.
PMID: 32843089 DOI: 10.1186/s40249-020-00739-7

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) is of high public health importance in Malaysia. Sabah State, located on the island of Borneo, has previously reported a particularly high burden of disease and faces unique contextual challenges compared with peninsular Malaysia. The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiology of TB in Sabah to identify risk groups and hotspots of TB transmission.

METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of TB cases notified in Sabah, Malaysia, between 2012 and 2018. Using data from the state's 'myTB' notification database, we calculated the case notification rate and described trends in the epidemiology, diagnostic practices and treatment outcomes of TB in Sabah within this period. The Chi-squared test was used for determining the difference between two proportions.

RESULTS: Between 2012 and 2018 there were 33 193 cases of TB reported in Sabah (128 cases per 100 000 population). We identified several geographic hotspots, including districts with > 200 cases per 100 000 population per year. TB rates increased with age and were highest in older males. Children

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.