Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains the principal cause of death from a curable infectious disease. Indonesia is estimated to have the third highest case load worldwide, but TB prevalence has not been measured for 25 years.
Methods: In 2004, 20000 households were selected in all 30 provinces. All adults (aged >/=15 years) in every household were screened for symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). Among those with symptoms, TB was diagnosed by sputum smear microscopy and sputum culture.
Results: Eighty adults were positive on at least two sputum smears (104 per 100000 population, 95%CI 66-142). Prevalence was lower in Central Indonesia (Java-Bali, 59/100000) than in the Western (Sumatra, 160/100000) or Eastern regions (189/100000), but the estimated 225000 prevalent cases were distributed evenly among the three regions. The national per capita prevalence in 2004 was lower than in 1979-1982 by a factor of three (3.1, 95%CI 1.2-4.9), and the total number of cases was lower by a factor of two.
Conclusions: Although the 2004 national survey may have underestimated the prevalence of smear-positive TB in Indonesia, there is strong evidence that it fell markedly between 1979-1982 and 2004.