Objective  To provide reference for the prevention and control of tuberculosis (TB) in schools by analyzing results of tuberculosis screening among new students.

  Methods  In the autumn of 2020, new students in Chaoyang District of Beijing were screened for tuberculosis. All new students except college completed investigation on suspicious symptoms/close contacts of tuberculosis. New Students (kindergarten, primary school, non-boarding junior middle school) with suspicious symptoms/close contact as well as boarding junior middle school and senior middle school had to complete PPD test, the college completed PPD test voluntarily. Students (boarding junior middle school and senior middle school) with suspected symptoms/close contact, students with strong PPD positive or uncompleted PPD, and all college new students had to complete chest X-ray examination.

  Results  In 2020, 136849 new students from 737 schools in Chaoyang District of Beijing were screened for tuberculosis. The suspicious symptom/close contact rate of tuberculosis was 6.81×10⁻⁴. The strong positive rate of PPD was 1.86% , and the difference among under senior middle school (0.91%), senior high school (1.80%) and college (5.82%) was statistically significant (χ²=55.458, P=0.009). The detection rate of tuberculosis infection was 5.60%, and the difference among under senior middle school (3.46%), senior middle school (5.65%) and college (11.09%) was statistically significant (χ²=45.767, P<0.001). 14 cases of active pulmonary tuberculosis (4 in senior middle school and 10 in college) were detected by chest X-ray. The detection rate of active pulmonary tuberculosis was 1.02×10⁻⁴ in all new students, the difference among under senior middle school (0×10⁻⁴), senior middle school (3.44×10⁻⁴) and college (3.06×10⁻⁴) was statistically significant (χ²=29.915, P<0.001).

  Conclusion  Tuberculosis screening in new students plays an important role ,and the prevention of tuberculosis should be strengthened in senior middle school and college.