European Respiratory Journal
Volume 26, Issue 1, 2005, Pages 126-132

Tuberculosis infection in children who are contacts of immigrant tuberculosis patients (Article) (Open Access)

Verver S.* , van Loenhout-Rooyackers J.H. , Bwire R. , Annee-van Bavel J.A.C.M. , de Lange H.J.M. , van Gerven P.J.H.J. , Borgdorff M.W.
  • a KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, Parkstraat 17, 2514 JD The Hague, Netherlands
  • b Municipal Health Service Regio Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
  • c KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, Parkstraat 17, 2514 JD The Hague, Netherlands
  • d Municipal Health Service Hart voor Brabant, Tilburg, Netherlands
  • e Municipal Health Service Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
  • f KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, Parkstraat 17, 2514 JD The Hague, Netherlands
  • g KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, Parkstraat 17, 2514 JD The Hague, Netherlands, Dept. of Infectious Diseases, Tropical Medicine and AIDS, Amsterdam Medical Centre, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Abstract

The present study aimed to determine what proportion of children who are in close contact with immigrant tuberculosis (TB) patients are infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. For 1.5 yrs, 14 municipal health services in the Netherlands collected data from all non-Dutch TB patients and their contacts. Close contacts aged <16 yrs received a tuberculin skin test (TST). A positive TST was defined as an induration of ≥10 mm among nonvaccinated children, and ≥16 mm among bacille Calmette-Guérin-vaccinated children. In total, 244 patients had 359 close contacts aged <16 yrs. Nine out of the 359 (2.5%) had TB. A TST test was given to 298 out of the 359 (83%). Of the 115 contacts of 44 extrapulmonary TB patients, three (3%) had a positive TST. Of the 186 contacts of 58 positive pulmonary TB patients, 30 (16%) had a positive TST. Contacts of sputum smear-positive patients significantly more often had a positive TST (25%), compared with the contacts of sputum smear-negative patients (7%). Children born abroad significantly more often had a positive TST (20%) than children born in the Netherlands (5%). In conclusion, the prevalence of active tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis infection among children who are close contacts of immigrant tuberculosis patients is high and warrants an expansion of contact investigation. Copyright © ERS Journals Ltd 2005.

Author Keywords

tuberculosis control Tuberculosis in childhood Infection lung diseases Tuberculosis epidemiology Infection control Tuberculosis Infection

Index Keywords

statistical analysis Netherlands mass screening Population Surveillance human risk assessment immigration middle aged controlled study Mycobacterium tuberculosis priority journal Logistic Models BCG vaccine statistical significance Humans lung tuberculosis Adolescent Severity of Illness Index male Tuberculosis, Pulmonary female sputum analysis risk factor population distribution BCG vaccination communicable disease control Child, Preschool Multivariate Analysis diagnostic test population research prevalence Contact Tracing Article disease transmission major clinical study tuberculin test adult infection risk Age Factors Emigration and Immigration Analysis of Variance Child
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-21744462774&doi=10.1183%2f09031936.05.00133204&partnerID=40&md5=6cfac2acc6daf09a918e6823a747dd12
DOI: 10.1183/09031936.05.00133204
ISSN: 09031936
Cited by: 18
Original Language: English