Prevalence of Smear Positive Pulmonary Tuberculosis and Associated Risk Factors among Pulmonary Tuberculosis Suspected Patients at Private Health Institutions in Gondar Town, Northwest Ethiopia: A Cross-sectional Study

Tuberculosis is one of the chronic human disease and serious public health problem in developing countries all over the world. It is the major cause of morbidity and mortality especially in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated risk factors of smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis among tuberculosis suspected patients at private health institutions in Gondar town. A cross sectional study was conducted at private health institutions on 352 suspected patients. Spot morning sputum was collected and examined by Ziehl-Nelson staining technique. Data was processed by SPSS version 20 software. Out of 352 pulmonary suspected patients who gave sputum samples the prevalence of smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis were 19(5.4%). Among these 12(3.41%) were males while the remaining 7(1.99%) were females. The age ranged from 15 to 91 with mean age of 53 years. Age, average monthly income, low educational status, patients with previous history of chronic disease, contact with tuberculosis suspected cases and ingestion of raw milk were more prone to have pulmonary tuberculosis. So to overcome this problem the responsible bodies should participate to increase the awareness of the community for the prevention and control of tuberculosis.