Tuberculosis registration in schools in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, 2008–2018

ObjectiveTo understand the trend and characteristics of school tuberculosis (TB) epidemic in Inner Mongolia, and provide evidence for the formulation of school TB prevention and control policies.

MethodsThe registered information of TB epidemic in students in Inner Mongolia from 2008 to 2018 were collected from National Infectious Disease Report Information Management System and analyzed by statistical software SPSS 20.0.

ResultsIn 2018, a total of 517 students with TB were registered in Inner Mongolia, with registered incidence rate of 17.02/100 000, a decrease of 57.10% compared with 2008 (1 409 registered tuberculosis patients, with a registered incidence of 39.71/100 000). In the second quarter, the registering rate of TB patients was highest, with an average of 31.86%. The student cases accounted for 4.78% of the total TB patients. The case number of students in senior high school was highest (40.65%), and among these cases, the students in Han ethnic group accounted for 66.22%.

ConclusionThe prevalence of TB in students in Inner Mongolia declined with year from 2008 to 2018. The number of reported patients in the second quarter was highest, the cases were mainly distributed in senior high school students with more cases in boys and in students in Han ethnic group. The registering rate of TB decreased in all ethnic groups, but the registering rate in Mongolia was higher. The prevention and control of school TB outbreak needs to be strengthened.