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[Contacts of children with tuberculous patients]
M L Castan Vidal1, M L Vidal López, M J Cerro Marín
1Servicio de Infecciosos, Hospital Infantil La Paz, Madrid.
Insights
Household contacts of active pulmonary tuberculosis patients were studied. Many children became infected, with some developing tuberculosis, but BCG vaccination offered protection in younger children.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Infectious Diseases
- Pediatrics
Abstract:
One hundred and nine adults recently diagnosed of active pulmonary tuberculosis (all of them with smear positive sputum) were selected. Their household contacts under fifteen years of age were studied. 73.1 por 100 of the children were tuberculin-positive, and 33.1 por 100 of these "reactors" had developed a pulmonary tuberculosis themselves. The bacillary density in the sputum of the source case was correlated to percentage of infected and ill children among his contacts. Neonatal vaccination with BCG showed a protective effect against the illness in children under eight years of age.