One of the most intriguing findings from South Africa’s first National Tuberculosis Prevalence Survey was that out of 234 people found to have TB, 58% had abnormal chest X-rays without experiencing any TB symptoms. Not surprisingly, the short report in which the findings were made public recommended the expanded use of X-ray technology for TB screening, something the World Health Organization (WHO) has also recently recommended.
In South Africa the first step in TB diagnosis is to ask people whether they have TB symptoms such as persistent cough, weight loss, night sweats, and fever. In general, only people who report TB symptoms go on to be tested for TB using molecular tests.