ZAMSTAR
Zambia and the Western Cape Province, South Africa
A total of 24 communities in Zambia and Cape Town, South Africa, each with 25,000 to 50,000 people, now take part in the ZAMSTAR study. This community-randomized trial is testing two interventions to reduce TB prevalence: improved TB case finding through increased access to TB diagnostics for those with symptoms, and household interventions centered on families with a TB case, offering HIV testing and treatment, TB screening and TB preventive therapy to all contacts of TB patients.
All communities receive strengthened DOTS programs and access to clinic-based TB/HIV activities. Six communities receive community-based improved case finding of TB. Six other communities receive household level TB/HIV integrated activities, and six more communities will receive both community-based improved case finding of TB and household level TB/HIV integrated activities. The remaining six communities will serve as the control group. The project has the strong support of the participating communities.
Progress Report:
Pilot studies involving thousands of elementary school-age children in Zambia and South Africa with TB skin tests have been finished. Baseline TB prevalence surveys have also been undertaken in both countries. In cooperation with the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), ZAMSTAR is also assessing the utility of the BD MGIT system for culturing Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Intensive ethnographic evaluations of communities have been completed by a team of social scientists to aide the researchers in determining social behaviors and TB ‘hot spots’ in study communities.
Below you can see abstracts and publications from the ZAMSTAR Study.
