Importance of cough and M. tuberculosis strain type as risks for increased transmission within households.

ABSTRACT:

Rationale

The degree to which tuberculosis (TB) is transmitted between persons is variable. Identifying the factors that contribute to transmission could provide new opportunities for TB control. Transmission is influenced by host, bacterial and environmental factors. However, distinguishing their individual effects is problematic because measures of disease severity are tightly correlated, and assessing the virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates is complicated by epidemiological and clinical confounders.

Objectives

To overcome these problems, we investigated factors potentially associated with TB transmission within households.

Methods

We evaluated patients with smear-positive (≥2+), pulmonary TB and classified M. tuberculosis strains into single nucleotide

SUBMITTER: Jones-Lopez EC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4079704 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature