A New Database Will Help Control the Spread of TB
08/01/2008
The new TB database will improve the tracking and analysis of TB cases.
Recently CDC, with funding from USAID, trained a group of Uzbek specialists from TB hospitals to understand and interpret the Uzbek Tuberculosis (TB) Electronic Surveillance Case-based Management System (TB ESCM) database, which currently includes nearly 93,000 TB cases.
This is yet another step towards the nationwide implementation of the system that will replace the currently used slow and labor-intensive paper-based TB reporting with comprehensive and efficient electronic reporting. Once implemented in all the country, the database will help doctors and Ministry of Health officials track and analyze features of TB epidemics, compare data with other countries in the region, and prepare more effective control and prevention measures. This system was developed and piloted with USAID support in all five Central Asian countries. USAID provided the computers, software, and training for the pilot phase of the system’s implementation in Uzbekistan. The replication of the system is currently financed by the Global Fund.