Incidence and Spatial Mapping of Tuberculosis and Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Libreville, Republic of Gabon,...

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global health problem, and the WHO central Africa region continues to bear the heaviest disease burden. Gabon is one of the high-TB-burden countries in the world; however, its national TB program performance remains weak despite financial support from international health agencies. Identifying and mapping high-TB- and multi-drug-resistant-TB (MDR-TB)-burden areas for targeted public health interventions was the objective of this study. Methods: A region-wide mixed method study was carried out, comprising ecological design and a desk review, with the use of medical records from TB diagnosis and care units in 12 health facilities located across the capital Libreville, Republic of Gabon, from 1 January through December 2022. Libreville is the region that bears the heaviest TB burden in Gabon. With the collaboration of the Agency for Space Studies and Observations (AGEOS, Gabon), collected data were transferred to and analyzed using QGIS software in order to develop satellite images. Results: In the Libreville health region, there were 4560 cases diagnosed in 2022, representing 77.9% of all cases in the country, with an annual incidence of 509 per 100,000. Spatial mapping of incident cases by county of residence showed that a large majority of the TB cases diagnosed at the CHUL care center in 2022 were from Nzeng-Ayong (range: 36-50 cases) and Owendo (26-35 cases), whereas higher TB incidence at the Nkembo care center was from Nzeng-Ayong (range: 356-455 cases) and Owendo (256-355 cases), followed by Nkembo, Akebe ville, Akebe Baraka, Akebe Plaine/plateau, Angondje, Angondje village, Charbonnages, Bikele, Pk11, Pk12, Pk9, Mindoube I, Mindoube II (66-255 cases), Sotega, and Nkok (46-65 cases). Other counties accounted for less than 45 TB cases. Considering MDR-TB cases, higher incidence was observed in Pk9 county, which accounted for six cases (14.6%), followed by Owendo, accounting for four (9.7%). Discussion: Findings suggest that Nzeng-Ayong and Owendo are high-TB-burden counties in Libreville, whereas Pk9 and Owendo counties are counties categorized as high-MDR-TB-incidence areas. They should be subject to targeted to public health interventions to enhance TB control in Libreville.