Investigation And Interventionof Multiple Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Outbreakin ACommunity of Yunlin County, 2017

Investigation And Interventionof Multiple Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Outbreakin ACommunity of Yunlin County, 2017

A patient of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis(MDR-TB) was first identified in a community, which had relatively high TB incidence rates and large number of drug-resistant TBcases, in Yunlin County in 2005. Afterwards, a totalof14 MDR-TB cases with the same strain hadbeen reported before 2017. To prevent the TB outbreakfrom wide spreadingin the community, the health authoritiesestablished prevention measures by re-investigation of the outbreak after a specialist meeting on Oct. 17, 2017. Epidemiologic investigation revealed that at least three interpersonal networks might be the transmission chains of the outbreak. After screening in the community,164 interferon gamma release assay(IGRA)-positive patients were detected and were futherdivided into148 MDR-TB contacts and 16 TB contacts. Among 16 TB contacts, 13 completed latent tuberculosis infection treatment, 2 were receiving 9H treatment, and 1 discontinuedthe treatment. Up to 2018, no new case hadbeen found, which indicatedthat the intervention by active case finding and early treatment was effective to prevention and controlthe outbreak.