South Asian Journal of Research in Microbiology

Tuberculosis is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis the bacteria usually attack the lungs, it can also attack other part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain. Over the years, the bacteria strain that cause tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) has developed a lot of resistance mainly as a result of a lack of compliance to treatment on the part of infected patients. The aim of this work is to determine the prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis among persons in Elele. The objectives are to determine the prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in big Elele community, to determine the spread of Mycobacterium tuberculosis among male and female genders, to determine Mycobacterium tuberculosis among various age group. Sputum samples were collected from various person who are seeking medical care on tuberculosis related infection at the university teaching hospital at big Elele community in Rivers State Nigeria. A total number of 132 samples were collected and analyzed within a period of 142 days. The method used for the test was Gene xpert molecular method following the standard operational procedure as recommended by the national tuberculosis and leprosy control programs in Nigeria. The number of samples for male and females were 61 and 71 respectively while the age bracket of all the participants were between 15 to 60 years. The overall prevalence of tuberculosis was 3%, while the prevalence among male and females are 2.3% and 0.8% respectively. There was no statistically significant difference of tuberculosis infection among male and female gender do the prevalence are not the same. The various age groups that were considered are 15-25, 26-35, 36-45 and 46-60. Positive tuberculosis values are only found within the age group of 15-25, 36-45 and 46-60. This research had identified the presence of tuberculosis infection among patients in Elele community, therefore proactive steps are required by various health steak holders to prevent the spread of tuberculosis in the community.