Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30475836›Full record

ArticlePloS one2018

Seasonal patterns of tuberculosis case notification in the tropics of Africa: A six-year trend analysis in Ethiopia.

Z Gashu, D Jerene, D G Datiko, N Hiruy, S Negash, K Melkieneh, D Bekele, G Nigussie, P G Suarez, A Hadgu

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed
1.6field-weighted citation impact, top 17% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

14 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.

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  8. A scoping review on climate change and tuberculosis.International journal of biometeorology · 2021
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Z GashuManagement Sciences for Health, USAID Challenge TB Project, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.ORCID 0000-0002-2774-7628
D JereneManagement Sciences for Health, USAID Challenge TB Project, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
D G DatikoManagement Sciences for Health, USAID Challenge TB Project, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
N HiruyManagement Sciences for Health, USAID Challenge TB Project, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
S NegashManagement Sciences for Health, USAID Challenge TB Project, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
K MelkienehManagement Sciences for Health, USAID Challenge TB Project, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
D BekeleOromia Regional Health Bureau, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
G NigussieAmhara Regional Health Bureau, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
P G SuarezManagement Sciences for Health, Arlington, Virginia, United States of America.
A HadguManagement Sciences for Health, USAID Challenge TB Project, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Management Sciences for Health · USAmhara Regional Health Bureau · ETOromiyaa Regional Health Bureau · ET

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveSeasonal variations affect the health system's functioning, including tuberculosis (TB) services, but there is little evidence about seasonal variations in TB case notification in tropical countries, including Ethiopia. This study sought to fill this gap in knowledge using TB data reported from 10 zones, 5 each from Amhara and Oromia regions.

methodsNotified TB cases for 2010-2016 were analyzed using SPSS version 20. We calculated the quarterly and annual average TB case notification rates and the proportion of seasonal amplitudes. We applied Winters' multiplicative method of exponential smoothing to break down the original time series into seasonal, trend, and irregular components and to build a suitable model for forecasting.

resultsA total of 205,575 TB cases were identified (47.8% from Amhara, 52.2% from Oromia), with a male-to-female ratio of 1.2:1. The means of 8,200 (24%), 7,992 (23%), 8,849 (26%), and 9,222 (27%) TB cases were reported during July-September, October-December, January-March, and April-June, respectively. The seasonal component of our model indicated a peak in April-June and a trough in October-December. The seasonal amplitude in Amhara region is 10% greater than that of Oromia (p < 0.05).

conclusionsTB is shown to be a seasonal disease in Ethiopia, with a peak in quarter four and a low in quarter two of the fiscal year. The peak TB case notification rate corresponds with the end of the dry season in the two agrarian regions of Ethiopia. TB prevention and control interventions, such as efforts to increase community TB awareness about TB transmission and contact tracing, should consider seasonal variation. Regional variations in TB seasonality may require consideration of geographic-specific TB case-finding strategies. The mechanisms underlying the seasonal variation of TB are complex, and further study is needed.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultChildChild, PreschoolDisease NotificationEthiopiaFemaleHumansMaleSeasonsTuberculosisYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID30475836
PMCPMC6261032
OpenAlexW2902479175

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.