Tuberculosis screening for pediatric household contacts in India: Time to adapt newer strategies under the National TB Elimination Programme!

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of screening pediatric household contacts (under the age of 15 years) for tuberculosis (TB) in India through verbal screening, tuberculin skin testing, and chest radiography at intervals of 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. The study also aimed to determine the proportion of contacts who tested positive for TB and to describe the challenges in implementing regular follow-up. Current National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) guidelines only require verbal screening for contacts under 6 years old at TB treatment initiation. The study aimed to fill this knowledge gap and provide valuable insights for improving TB screening in pediatric household contacts in India.

Methods

The study was conducted in two districts of Karnataka, I

SUBMITTER: Chawla K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10553317 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature