Characteristics of Tuberculosis Patients at Okaba Community Health Center, Merauke Regency, 2023-2025

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Eastern Indonesia, particularly South Papua Province, faces a double burden of infectious diseases with a still high incidence of Tuberculosis (TB). Clinical and demographic characteristics of patients at the primary care level are vital indicators for evaluating the effectiveness of breaking the chain of transmission. This study aims to analyze the demographic (age, gender) and clinical (anatomical location of the disease) characteristics of TB patients treated at the Okaba Community Health Center in 2025. The research is an observational descriptive study with a cross-sectional design conducted using secondary medical record data. Sampling used the Total Sampling technique on all registered patients from January 2023 to December 2025 by looking at characteristics based on gender, TB disease classification, and age of TB sufferers. Of the 87 study subjects, a relatively balanced gender distribution was found with details of 43 men (49.4%) and 44 women (50.6%). A total of 80 patients (91.9%) were diagnosed with pulmonary TB, while 7 patients (8.1%) were found with extrapulmonary TB. Demographically, the majority of patients were concentrated in the productive working age range. The large number of pulmonary TB cases indicates that the caseload at Okaba Community Health Center is infectious, which increases the risk of aerogen transmission in the community. Public health interventions should focus on protecting close contacts in the workplace and household.