study of tuberculous infection rate in townships in a centeral province of iran

tuberculosis is a continuous threat for health in all parts of the world. an estimated one-third of the world, s population is infected with the mycobacterium tuberculosis and 7 to 8 million people develop tb disease each year. the purpose of this study was to investigate the rate of tuberculosis in the townships of yazd province, iran. during the study period (1997-1999), 3885 suspected tuberculosis patients (1820 males and 2065 females; aged 8-85 years) who had been referred to the yazd referral polyclinic were investigated by ziehl neelsen staining and culture method and questionnaire was completed for each subject. then, collected data were analyzed by statistical package for social science (spss) and chi-square program. the results show that, of the total suspected tuberculosis, 604 cases were found to be positive for tuberculosis. the average annual rate of tuberculosis was 26.8 cases per 100000 population (23.1/100000 males and 31/100000 females). the highest and lowest rates of tuberculosis were observed among sadough (78.1/100000) and abarkouh townships population (19.8/100000) and also among age group ≥ 50 years old (111/100000) and < 10 years old (7/100000), respectively. the average annual rates of pulmonary and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis in yazd province were 152 cases (20.2%) and 48 cases (6.4%), respectively. it seems that, despite the efforts, which have been done for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of patients with tuberculosis, it is still considered as a threat for health in the yazd province, iran.