759 - Where can we find active TB? Case finding at community sites and alcohol based venues (ABVs) in rural South Africa.

Background: Community-based intensive case finding (CBICF) is an effective strategy for infectious disease case detection, particularly for hard-to-reach populations.  Alcohol use is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for tuberculosis.  We report on the association of alcohol use with tuberculosis case detection as part of a CBICF in a rural resource limited setting.

Methods: In rural KwaZuluNatal, South Africa, community health workers stationed outside ABVs, community centers, and public events conducted health education and voluntary confidential screening in a mobile clinic. A WHO endorsed TB symptom screen (with sputum collection for GeneXpert if ≥1 symptom), HIV rapid test, random glucose (elevated >7mmol/L), and blood pressure (elevated >140 or >90mmHg) were offered. Community members with positive results were referred to their primary care clinic. Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to identify hazardous drinking (score ≥8for men, ≥6for women). Here we report on TB screening results only.

Results: Among 1438 participants, 91.2% were screened at ABV, 72.3% were male, median age was 30 (IQR 22-46), 25.9% were employed, 92.0% had electricity but only 29.4% had running water. Among those screened at all sites, 43.1% reported hazardous alcohol use, 39.3% tobacco use, and 13.9% cannabis use. Overall, 5 people with active TB were identified representing a number needed to screen of 288 to identify one case of TB. Bivariate analysis showed TB cases were more likely to be associated with older age (p=0.03), cigarette use (p=0.06), and hazardous alcohol use (p=0.01). Among only men who were screened, older age (p=0.01) and hazardous alcohol use (p=0.04) were associated with active TB disease. The mean AUDIT score among TB cases was 13.8 (SD 4.09) compared to non-TB cases 6.8 (SD 7.5) (p=0.04).

Conclusion: CBICF is a useful way to detect people with active TB, especially for hard-to-reach rural populations. Focusing screening efforts among those at ABVs is high yield and can be a useful adjunctive strategy for TB case finding efforts. These findings highlight a need for comprehensive substance abuse services to assist those at high risk for TB acquisition.