Childhood tuberculosis: An emerging and previously neglected problem

Date
2010
Authors
Marais B.J.
Schaaf H.S.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
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Abstract
Although awareness is growing, childhood tuberculosis (TB) remains a neglected disease in many resource-limited settings. In part this reflects operational difficulties, lack of visibility in official reports, as well as perceptions that children tend to develop mild disease, contribute little to disease transmission, and do not affect epidemic control. At an international level there is greater appreciation that children contribute significantly to the global TB disease burden and suffer severe TB-related morbidity and mortality, particularly in TB-endemic areas, where the disease often remains undiagnosed. However, this is not always the case at the national or local level and there remains an urgent need for feasible and implementable policies to guide clinical practice. Pediatric TB can be regarded as an emerging epidemic in areas where the adult epidemic remains out of control and Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission is ongoing. This article reviews important concepts, challenges, and management principles related to childhood TB; it also summarizes the main priorities for future research. © 2010 Elsevier Inc.
Description
Keywords
amikacin, antiretrovirus agent, BCG vaccine, capreomycin, cotrimoxazole, ethambutol, ethionamide, gamma interferon, isoniazid, isoniazid plus rifampicin, kanamycin, linezolid, moxifloxacin, placebo, pyrazinamide, quinoline derived antiinfective agent, rifampicin, tuberculostatic agent, antibiotic sensitivity, aspiration biopsy, bacterial transmission, bacterium culture, child, childhood disease, clinical trial, cytokine release, diagnostic accuracy, diagnostic test, diagnostic value, drug blood level, drug intermittent therapy, drug megadose, drug penetration, endemic disease, epidemic, extrapulmonary tuberculosis, feces analysis, health care delivery, health care policy, health care quality, health program, health promotion, high resolution computer tomography, highly active antiretroviral therapy, human, Human immunodeficiency virus, Human immunodeficiency virus infection, immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome, immunoassay, incidence, infection risk, lung lavage, miliary tuberculosis, mixed infection, monotherapy, multidrug resistant tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, nasopharyngeal aspiration, nonhuman, nucleic acid amplification, patient compliance, postprimary tuberculosis, practice guideline, prevalence, public health problem, public health service, recommended drug dose, retreatment, review, sensitivity and specificity, short course therapy, single drug dose, sputum smear, thorax radiography, tuberculin test, tuberculosis, tuberculosis control, tuberculous meningitis, urinalysis, virus transmission, Age Factors, Antitubercular Agents, Child, Child, Preschool, Communicable Diseases, Emerging, Drug Resistance, Bacterial, Humans, Incidence, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Prevalence, Tuberculosis
Citation
Infectious Disease Clinics of North America
24
3