Prevalence of Pulmonary Tuberculosis among Artisanal Miners and the Peri-Mining Community in the Province of Lualaba in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Background: The magnitude of TB in DRC has been very high, and it is one of the high burden countries that account for more than eighty percent of the global TB buden. Artisanal miners have a disproportionately high risk of contracting tuberculosis for several reasons related to their professional exposure and other socio-economic factors. Hence, the objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of TB in the miners and peri-mining communities. Methods: The study applied a cross-sectional study conducted in Lualaba province, recruiting respondents from the two study groups. All individuals who gave written consent to participate in the study were interviewed, and sputum samples were collected for GeneXpert testing. Results: A total of 1778 study participants were included, composed of 889 each from both groups of the study population. A significant majority were males. The combined prevalence of tuberculosis for the two studied subpopulations was 4.1%. Based on the disaggregated analysis, the prevalence was 5.2% among the miners and 3.0% among the peri-mining community. The difference was statistically significant, with a P-value of 0.023. Conclusion: This study found that the prevalence of TB in mining communities was very high, which was twice as high compared to the peri-mining community. Mining is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the province, and the risks of TB transmission and its impact on the community could, therefore, be even greater. Tailored programmatic interventions are needed, including targeted TB screening, contact tracing, and routine testing of all mine workers.