Modern Disease Control and Prevention

Objective To evaluate the first-year implementation of a tuberculosis (TB)-free community pilot program in Henan Province by analyzing key performance indicators, thereby assessing the current TB situation in pilot areas and providing a evidence-based guidance for subsequent efforts. Methods From Oct 1 , 2023 to Sep 30,2024, one community was selected from each of six counties (districts) in Henan Province for the pilot. Intervention activities included: population-wide screening for suspected pulmonary TB symptoms; latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (LTBI) screening for high-risk groups; provision of preventive TB treatment; and community-based TB health education. Data from all six sites were aggregated to analyze completion detection, analyze relevant metrics. Results The pilot achieved high screening coverage: 97.03% (264 695/272 799) of the target population was screened for symptoms, and 94.77% (66 572/70 247) of the targeted high-risk groups underwent LTBI testing. The suspected symptom detection rate was 2.20% (5 821/264 695), close contacts (8.35% , 38/455) and HIV/AIDS patients (6.67%, 8/120) had the highest rates. The overall LTBI positive rate was 7.29% (4 853/66 572), healthcare workers engaged in TB prevention and control (13.58%, 47/346) and close contacts (13.03%, 49/376) had the highest rates, differences inthe detection rates of suspected symptoms and LTBI positive rates among different populations were statistically significant (x 2 =967.479 and 395.138, respectively, both P < 0.05). A total of 62 pulmonary TB patients were actively detected through this screening. The acceptance rate of preventive treatment among eligible individuals was 40.53% (1 957/4 829), with the 3HR regimen being the most common 66.58%(1 303 individuals) The public awareness rate of core TB information was 85.87% (3 143/3 660). Conclusions The first year of the TB-free community initiative in Henan province was successfully implemented, achieving high screening coverage and public awareness while actively identifying TB cases and LTBI. Key areas for improvement include enhancing the uptake of preventive treatment, and continuing targeted active screening and health education to sustain progress towards TB elimination.