Javid Taghinejad - Department of Microbiology, Malekan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Malekan, IR Iran
Ali Sadeghi Urmia - Research committee, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tabriz University of Medical Science, Tabriz, IR Iran
Babak Barati - Biological Sciences and Technology Center, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Imam Hossein University, Tehran, IR Iran
Sina Karimi - TB Department, Laboratory of Health Center Staff, Salmas, IR Iran

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease and can be lethal in most cases. The disease is a major health challenge in developing countries and also in several parts of Iran. The aim of this survey was to study epidemiology of tuberculosis in Salmas, Iran from 2006 to 2015. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 3195 people who were referred to the healthcare center of Salmas from 2006 to 2015. Data were analyzed statistically using SPSS Statistics. Results: A total of 3195 patients were referred to laboratory of healthcare center in Salmas during 2006-2015 of which 84 patients (42 male and 42 female) were identified as smear-positive. 42 smear-positive patients were from urban areas (52%) and 39 patients from rural regions (48%). Of all TB cases, 64 patients were diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis (67%) while 31 patients suffered from extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (33%). Conclusion: The present study shows that there is a decline in TB incidence rate in Salmas. Monthly delivered medical care by health providers is expected to decline the incidence of tuberculosis in the city in the near future.

tuberculosis, epidemiology, Salmas