Childhood tuberculosis incidence in Southeast Brazil, 1996

This study aims to describe childhood tuberculosis incidence in Southeast Brazil in 1996. It is a descriptive study based on secondary records from the Tuberculosis Division of the Sao Paulo State Health Department. The study area includes 40 cities, has some 1,800,000 inhabitants, and is located between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the largest cities in Brazil. The study included cases up to 15 years of age. Independent variables were: sex, age, type of case, clinical presentation, radiology, AFB microscopy, HIV antibody tests, and method of discovery. The incidence rate in this age bracket was 10.4/100,000. Pulmonary manifestations were the most common, and control of contacts was the most common method of case discovery. AFB microscopy was performed in 18.6% of the cases and HIV testing was done in 14.9%. Incidence in this study was higher than for the State of Sao Paulo as a whole. Poor socioeconomic level, deterioration of public health services, treatment dropout by adults and their persistence as sputum-positive carriers, and flaws in case reporting and follow-up could explain these results.