RESEARCH ARTICLE Barriers to adherence with n u

Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleBackground Tuberculosis (TB) control remains a major global public health challenge, with most of the 9 million people af-fected each year living in resource-limited countries [1]. Despite the widespread availability of effective therapies for TB, the global average decline in incidence has been only 2 % annually. It is estimated that, each year, three million new cases of TB remain undiagnosed [1]. Actively screening high-risk groups for TB could increase the pro-portion of infectious cases that are diagnosed and treated and, thereby, reduce ongoing transmission of TB in the community [2,3]. Household contacts of patients with TB have a higher risk of developing TB than the general popu-lation. A recent meta-analysis of published contact investi-gation studies showed that, overall, 3.1 % (95 % CI 2.2-4.4%) of household contacts had TB disease at the time their in-fectious household member was diagnosed [4]. The study also showed high rates of incident TB over the four year