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Home / The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Volume 15, Number 1

Contact investigation for tuberculosis in Taiwan contacts aged under 20 years in 2005

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OBJECTIVE: To measure the tuberculosis (TB) incidence rate and assess the relative risk of TB disease in contacts based on the tuberculin skin test (TST) and sputum status of index cases.

DESIGN: All contacts aged <20 years who were exposed to a TB case in 2005 were cross-matched using an electronic surveillance system to estimate TB incidence over a 24-month follow-up period.

RESULTS: Among 6959 contacts there were 67 secondary cases (1%). The incidence was highest in the first year after exposure and decreased by half in the second year (P = 0.001). The relative risks of developing TB in contacts aged 0–4, 5–9, 10–14 and 15–19 years were respectively 325, 209, 337 and 53 times greater than for the general population. The hazard ratio of developing TB among contacts with a TST ≥ 15 mm induration was 12 times higher than for those with a TST < 5 mm (P = 0.003).

CONCLUSIONS: The relative risk of developing TB disease within 24 months of exposure was approximately 200–300 times greater for contacts aged <15 years. The majority developed TB within 12 months of exposure.

Keywords: active case finding; contact investigation; infant and children; latent TB infection; tuberculosis

Document Type: Regular Paper

Affiliations: 1: Centers for Disease Control, Department of Health, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Public Health and Institute of Public Health, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan 2: Department of Public Health and Institute of Public Health, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; Department of Family and Community Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan 3: Centers for Disease Control, Department of Health, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 4: Centers for Disease Control, Department of Health, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Public Health, Community Medicine Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan 5: Centers for Disease Control, Department of Health, Taipei, Taiwan 6: Centers for Disease Control, Department of Health, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

Publication date: 01 January 2011

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  • The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IJTLD) is for clinical research and epidemiological studies on lung health, including articles on TB, TB-HIV and respiratory diseases such as COVID-19, asthma, COPD, child lung health and the hazards of tobacco and air pollution. Individuals and institutes can subscribe to the IJTLD online or in print – simply email us at [email protected] for details.

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