Projected population level impact and cost-effectiveness of clinic and community-based tuberculosis screening approaches
- 1TB Centre, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
- 2Clinical Research Department, Africa Health Research Institute, Somkhele, South Africa
- 3School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
Abstract
The South African National Department of Health have set ambitious targets to scale up TB testing, focusing primarily on clinic attendees. In the context of declining funding for TB care and prevention, the most cost-effective approaches for targeting testing should be identified. We developed a mathematical model of TB in South Africa, explicitly incorporating clinic attendance by sex and HIV/ART status. We simulated six screening approaches over 2026–2035 (individually and in combination): three clinic-based (symptom screening, intensified targeted universal TB testing [TUTT, symptom-agnostic sputum testing of clinic attendees in key risk groups], and intensified TUTT allowing saliva samples) and three targeted community-based (community radiographic screening, symptom screening, and universal Xpert Ultra testing), each implemented at a range of coverage levels. Model outputs were combined with a mechanistic cost function to estimate potential impact and cost-effectiveness from a societal perspective. The most cost-effective standalone approach was community radiographic screening at 10% annual population coverage, with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of $421 per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted. 10/11 scenarios along the expansion path included community radiographic screening at progressively higher coverage, combined with a clinic-based approach. Combining complementary approaches to reach both groups at increased risk of TB (e.g., clinic-based screening) and groups with lower screening coverage (e.g., community-based screening) may increase cost-effectiveness of TB screening, compared to standalone approaches. When designing TB screening strategies, both population risk and existing screening coverage should be considered.
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BibTeX
@article{mccreesh2026projected,
title = {{Projected population level impact and cost-effectiveness of clinic and community-based tuberculosis screening approaches}},
author = {Nicky McCreesh and Palwasha Y. Khan and Ian Yoon and Indira Govender and Mareca Sithole and Rein M. G. J. Houben and Richard G. White and Alison D. Grant and Sedona Sweeney},
journal = {PLOS Global Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pgph.0006738},
url = {https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0006738},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Projected population level impact and cost-effectiveness of clinic and community-based tuberculosis screening approaches
AU - Nicky McCreesh
AU - Palwasha Y. Khan
AU - Ian Yoon
AU - Indira Govender
AU - Mareca Sithole
AU - Rein M. G. J. Houben
AU - Richard G. White
AU - Alison D. Grant
AU - Sedona Sweeney
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/11
JO - PLOS Global Public Health
DO - 10.1371/journal.pgph.0006738
UR - https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0006738
AB - The South African National Department of Health have set ambitious targets to scale up TB testing, focusing primarily on clinic attendees. In the context of declining funding for TB care and prevention, the most cost-effective approaches for targeting testing should be identified. We developed a mathematical model of TB in South Africa, explicitly incorporating clinic attendance by sex and HIV/ART status. We simulated six screening approaches over 2026–2035 (individually and in combination): three clinic-based (symptom screening, intensified targeted universal TB testing [TUTT, symptom-agnostic sputum testing of clinic attendees in key risk groups], and intensified TUTT allowing saliva samples) and three targeted community-based (community radiographic screening, symptom screening, and universal Xpert Ultra testing), each implemented at a range of coverage levels. Model outputs were combined with a mechanistic cost function to estimate potential impact and cost-effectiveness from a societal perspective. The most cost-effective standalone approach was community radiographic screening at 10% annual population coverage, with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of $421 per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted. 10/11 scenarios along the expansion path included community radiographic screening at progressively higher coverage, combined with a clinic-based approach. Combining complementary approaches to reach both groups at increased risk of TB (e.g., clinic-based screening) and groups with lower screening coverage (e.g., community-based screening) may increase cost-effectiveness of TB screening, compared to standalone approaches. When designing TB screening strategies, both population risk and existing screening coverage should be considered.
SN - 2767-3375
ER -