Abstract

Background: Tuberculosis, an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, is a disease of all humankind, age groups, gender, and body parts. Despite several interventions at different levels, it continues to be a major global public health concern, with greater burdens in developing countries.

Objective: This study was aimed at assessing pulmonary TB prevalence and associated factors among shopkeepers in Bahir Dar City, Northwest Ethiopia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016 among 520 shopkeepers who had suggestive TB signs and symptoms. Data were collected by face to face interview using a pretested questionnaire, and sputum samples processing. Shopkeepers were considered TB positive if two sputum slides became positive. Data were edited and analyzed using the SPSS version 23. Various descriptive statistics were computed to describe study variables. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis were used to identify factors associated with TB infection.  The significant association was described using the odds ratio at 95% CI.

Results: A total of 520 shopkeepers, 57.0% of females, were interviewed and gave sputum samples. The mean age of the shopkeepers was 30±5 years and 49.2% were under ≤30 years age category. About 22.0% of the shopkeepers can read and write, 65.0% were Muslims, and 32.0% originated from the rural areas. The pulmonary TB prevalence was 7.0% (37/520) with a positivity proportion of 57.0% (21/37) in males and 70.0% (26/37) in urban residents. Less than half (42.0%) of the shopkeepers had contact with TB cases, and 70.0% of them were nonventilated. Smaller (44.0%) shopkeepers got health education on TB. Illiteracy, no health education, contact history, cigarette smoking, non-ventilated shops, and comorbidities history were statistically significant factors for TB infection (𝑝-value < 0.05).

Conclusions and Recommendations: TB has infected significant numbers of shopkeepers in the study area. Factors for TB infection are summarized as personal, comorbidities and environment related. Therefore, TB officials need to especially emphasize on awareness creation, occupational health, identifying possible risky areas, and scale-up of early screening to prevent TB infection in the study area.

Keywords: TB, prevalence, factors, shopkeepers, Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia