Culture testing of sputum samples
TB
All sputum samples that were collected for culture testing were batched and kept in a refrigerator until being transported on the same day to the central laboratory in a cooler box. In Zambia, samples were taken to the Zambart central laboratory in Lusaka, and in South Africa to the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) laboratory in Greenpoint, Cape Town. At the culture laboratory, culture testing followed standard procedures that have been described previously [The culture result for each sputum sample was defined based on the combination of the culture results from the 2 tubes (The culture result for each individual was defined based on the combination of the culture results from the S3 and S4 samples. An individual had a valid culture result if one or both of the S3 and S4 sample results were valid and was classified as having prevalent TB if ≥1 sample was culture-positive for 