BACKGROUND: Adults with suspected tuberculosis (TB) in health facilities in Africa have a high risk of death. The risk of death for adults with suspected TB at community-level is not known but may also be high.

METHODS: Adults reporting cough of 2 weeks (coughers) during a household census of 19 936 adults in a poor urban setting in Malawi were randomly sampled and age-frequency matched with adults without cough 2 weeks (controls). At 12 months, participants were traced to establish vital status, offered human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing and investigated for TB if symptomatic (sputum for Xpert® MTB/RIF, smear microscopy and culture).

RESULTS: Of 345 individuals with cough, 245 (71%) were traced, as were 243/345 (70.4%) controls. TB was diagnosed in 8.9% (16/178) of the coughers and 3.7% (7/187) of the controls (P = 0.039). HIV prevalence among coughers was 34.6% (56/162) and 18.8% (32/170) in controls (P = 0.005); of those who were HIV-positive, respectively 26.8% and 18.8% were newly diagnosed. The 12-month risk of death was 4.1% (10/245) in coughers and 2.5% (6/243) in controls (P = 0.317).

CONCLUSION: Undiagnosed HIV and TB are common among adults with chronic cough, and mortality is high in this urban setting. Interventions that promote timely seeking of HIV and TB care are needed.