Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis household contact screening and management by community healthcare workers in Mongolia: a prospective implementation study

Abstract

Background: Mongolia is a high burden country for multidrug- or rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB). The implementation of systematic household TB contact investigation has been very limited despite policy recommendations. We implemented a community-based approach to MDR/RR-TB contact screening and management. Methods: We conducted a prospective implementation study in the nine districts of Ulaanbaatar and 10 other provinces. Community health workers (CHWs) were trained to identify and screen household contacts of patients with confirmed pulmonary MDR/RR-TB. Initial screening included symptom assessment for all with chest radiography for adult contacts or tuberculin skin test (TST)..