Predictive factors for latent tuberculosis infection among adolescents in a high-burden area in South Africa
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of and predictive factors associated with latent TB infection in adolescents.
DESIGN: Adolescents aged 12–18 years were recruited from high schools, clinical and demographic data were collected, and a tuberculin skin test (TST) and a QuantiFERON®-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT) assay performed.
RESULTS: A total of 6363 (58.2%) of 10 942 adolescents at the schools were enrolled. After exclusions, of 5244 participants, 55.2% (95%CI 53.8–56.5) had TST ≥ 5 mm, while 50.9% (49.5–52.2) were QFT-positive. On multivariate analysis, Black/mixed race racial groups, male sex, older age, household TB contact, low income and low education level were predictive factors for both TST- and QFT-positive results.
CONCLUSION: About half of the adolescents were found to be latently infected with TB in a high TB burden area with demographic and poverty-related socio-economic factors predicting the risk of TB infection. Adolescents from deprived communities should be considered an important target group for educational interventions by TB control programmes in high-burden settings.
Keywords: IGRA; TST; adolescence; predictive factors; tuberculosis
Document Type: Regular Paper
Affiliations: 1: Aeras Global Tuberculosis Vaccine Foundation, Bethesda, Maryland, USA 2: KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, The Hague, The Netherlands; and Centre for Infection and Immunity Amsterdam, Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 3: Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development and Commercialization Inc, Rockville, Maryland, USA 4: School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Publication date: 01 March 2011
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