The rapid village survey in tuberculosis control.

SETTING: Khon Kaen Province, North-East Thailand. OBJECTIVE: To develop a rapid and cheap method of surveying a population cluster (a village) to establish the prevalence of sputum-positive tuberculosis. DESIGN: Based on previous experience a standardized 'rapid village survey' method was designed and tested. In this method a survey team of health workers is constituted and trained. Before and at the beginning of a visit to a village the population receives information about tuberculosis, and only individuals with chest symptoms are invited to report voluntarily to the survey team for examination. Active tracing of a previously compiled 'list of suspects and contacts' complements the identification of cases. The number of community members to be examined is thus much lower. A cluster sample of the provincial population was made (20,730 people in 40 villages). The population in each village was surveyed first by the Rapid Village Survey method, then, 1 week later, by the conventional method of examining every individual registered in each village. RESULTS: In the rapid village survey 14 cases of sputum-positive tuberculosis were detected and in the conventional survey 15 cases. CONCLUSION: The rapid method produces results comparable to the survey of the total sample population for less than half of the cost.

Rapid village survey to determine the size of the leprosy problem in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand.

The rapid village survey (RVS) method has been developed as a simpler, less-expensive alternative to random sample surveys for determining the prevalence of leprosy and was compared with a total population survey (TVS). In the RVS, the cluster population receives clear information about the disease, and those with symptoms are invited to be examined by the survey team. A list of household contacts and suspects was made and those on the list were actively traced. The registered population was 20,815; 10 new patients were found among the 2034 people self-reporting in the RVS, 0 among the household contacts and suspects, and an additional 2 new patients in the TVS. There were 12 registered patients among the sample population. The prevalence rate found by the RVS was 1.06 per 1000(95% CI = 0.49-1.63) and in the TVS 1.16 per 1000 (95% CI = 0.5-1.77). The man-days and costs of an RVS are considerably less than those for a TVS. It was concluded that the RVS is a valid replacement for the TVS as conducted in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand. The RVS can be applied under low-endemic conditions and could be carried out by the general health staff.