DOI: 10.36347/sasjm.2023.v09i06.029

Pages: 704-708

Introduction: In 2016, tuberculosis (TB) was the ninth leading cause of death worldwide and the leading cause of death due to a single infectious agent (WHO Tuberculosis Report, African Region 2016). At Mali's last census, carried out in 2009, the country's resident or legal population stood at 14,528,662, with an annual growth rate of 3.6% since 2009. The District of Bamako accounts for more than half of the urban population, i.e. 55.3% (RGPH 2009, p. 19). Mali is a highly tuberculosis-endemic country, with an estimated incidence of 56 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2016 (Incidence of tuberculosis in the world, World Bank link). This means that the country expects to have at least 10,000 cases of tuberculosis (TB) every year. Objective: To carry out active screening for cases of tuberculosis in places of worship in a developing country in sub-Saharan Africa. Methodology: This was a prospective cross-sectional study of active screening for TB in religious settings. We carried out systematic sampling in 02 mosques in each health district of the District of Bamako, i.e. a total of 12 mosques over a period of 03 days per commune. During the campaign period, our sample size was 1,092 participants. The campaign was preceded by a social mobilisation session with the faithful of these mosques. Results: Our study included 1,092 participants with a ratio of 1.5 in favour of men, i.e. 60.16%. The age range was 15 to 65 years and over, with the elderly being the most representative. We had 18 positive cases, representing 1.64%, the majority of whom were women (55.56%, 0.8 in favour of women). Among the positive cases, young people were more represented, with an age range of 15-24 years, representing 27.77%. In addition to the positive cases, there were 1,074 chronic coughers with negative bacilloscopy (98.35%).