Outreach for Early Diagnosis

The World Health Organization recommends systematic screening for active TB in high risk subpopulations that have poor access to health care.

E-DETECT TB’s ultimate objective is to improve early diagnosis in these populations.

Romania and Bulgaria are countries in transition from high to intermediate incidence and are experiencing high TB rates among certain subpopulations.

The E-DETECT TB project partners built a mobile diagnostic unit, equipped with digital radiography, computer aided detection and molecular point of care tests.

The truck was operated by specially-trained team who exchanged their knowledge and experiences with counterparts from similar initiatives in the Netherlands and the UK.

Main objectives

To ensure early diagnosis in vulnerable populations (prisoners, drug users, homeless persons and Roma population) in Romania and to pilot the screening for 1 week in Bulgaria.
To strengthen care integration using an outreach strategy by providing a one-stop “shop” (clinic).

Webinar

We held a webinar in October 2019, looking at on our outreach for early diagnosis work. Participants heard short talks from the E-DETECT team and had the opportunity to ask questions of the speakers.

The programme was as follows:

Introduction by webinar chair: Gerard de Vries
TB screening among homeless persons and illicit drug-users: the Rotterdam experience: Rob van Hest
The Find and Treat outreach service in London; an evaluation: Ibrahim Abubakar
Changing the approach from passive case finding for TB to active case finding: Beatrice Mahler-Boca & Ana-Maria Duca
Clinical aspects of E-DETECT TB confirmed cases: Dan Gainaru
Question time

Watch our ERS webinar about active case finding

Printable factsheets

Publications

May 2018 | publication: “Towards tackling tuberculosis in vulnerable groups in the European Union: the E-DETECT TB consortium” [view via European Respiratory Journal website]
July 2018 | poster exhibited by Gerard de Vries, KNCV at AIDS 2018 Conference, Amsterdam [Download PDF]
October 2018 | publication: “Tuberculosis in the European Union and European Economic Area: a survey of national tuberculosis programmes” [view via European Respiratory Journal website]
December 2018 | E-DETECT TB acknowledged by the publication: “The UCL–Lancet Commission on Migration and Health: the health of a world on the move” [view via UCL-Lancet Commission website]
April 2019 | “E-DETECT TB maakt succesvolle start met vroege tbc-screening in Roemenië” – special edition of Tegen de Tuberculose [Download PDF or view online]
July 2021 | publication: “Human reading versus computer-automated reading of chest radiographs in a tuberculosis screening programme in Romania” [view via European Respiratory Journal website]
August 2021 | publication: “Use of targeted mobile X-ray screening and computer-aided detection software to identify tuberculosis among high-risk groups in Romania: descriptive results of the E-DETECT TB active case-finding project” [view via BMJ Open website]