Contact investigation
Screening (TB)
Activity performed by a healthcare provider in a specific population in order to identify persons who have tuberculosis or M.tuberculosis infection.
Index patient of tuberculosis
Used in tuberculosis surveillance to refer to the person of any age who is initially identified with new or recurrent tuberculosis in a specific household or other comparable setting in which others may have been exposed. An index patient is the person on which a contact investigation is centred but is not necessarily the source patient.
Household contact
Person who shared the same enclosed living space as the index case of tuberculosis for one or more nights or for frequent or extended daytime periods during the 3 months before the start of current treatment.
Enhanced (tuberculosis) case-finding
Health information or education, or awareness campaigns to provide information about what type of health-seeking behaviour is appropriate when people experience symptoms of TB.
Close community contact
A person who is not in the same household but shares an enclosed space, such as a social gathering place, workplace, or facility for extended periods during the day with the index patient during the 3 months before commencement of the current treatment episode.
Active case-finding
Proactive strategy used to find tuberculosis cases in health facilities or in the community. It usually implies a systematic screening process in high-risk populations.
Source case investigation
Investigation to determine the index case (source) of a tuberculosis case of interest. Also called reverse contact investigation.
Number needed to screen
Number of people who need to undergo screening in order to diagnose one person with tuberculosis.
