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Home / The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Volume 26, Number 7

TB-related deaths among adults in Guinea-Bissau

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SETTING: In an urban demographic, high TB burden surveillance site in Guinea-Bissau, most deaths occur at home, and information on cause of death (CoD) is lacking.

OBJECTIVE: To examine CoD and the proportion of TB deaths in three groups: among patients examined for TB without a verified diagnosis after diagnostic workup, described as “assumed TB-negative” (aTBneg), among patients with a confirmed diagnosis of TB and in a sample of the background population.

DESIGN: Verbal autopsies (VAs) were obtained for registered deaths occurring between 1 January 2010 and 15 June 2016. All deaths among aTBneg and patients with TB, and a sample of deaths in the background population were included.

RESULTS: VAs were obtained from 104/112 aTBneg patients, 140/155 patients with TB, and 172/219 from the general population. The leading CoD was TB in respectively 20%, 69% and 9% of the cohorts. HIV/AIDS-related deaths were the most frequent CoD among aTBneg patients (45%) and in the background population (27%), and accounted for 9% of patients with TB.

CONCLUSION: TB was shown to be a frequent CoD, not only among patients diagnosed with TB, but also among aTBneg patients and the background population. This indicates a low TB case detection rate.

Keywords: InterVA; West Africa; cause-specific mortality; verbal autopsy

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: Bandim Health Project, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, GloHAU, Center for Global Health, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark 2: Department of Respiratory Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark 3: Bandim Health Project, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, Hospital Raoul Follerau, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau 4: Bandim Health Project, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, National Tuberculosis Program, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau 5: Bandim Health Project, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, GloHAU, Center for Global Health, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark, Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark 6: Bandim Health Project, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark

Publication date: July 1, 2022

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  • The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IJTLD) is for clinical research and epidemiological studies on lung health, including articles on TB, TB-HIV and respiratory diseases such as COVID-19, asthma, COPD, child lung health and the hazards of tobacco and air pollution. Individuals and institutes can subscribe to the IJTLD online or in print – simply email us at [email protected] for details.

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