[Tuberculosis in children in Copenhagen during 1975-1985]

During the years 1975-1985, 25 Danish children (less than 15 years) and 40 children of immigrants in the Municipalities of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg had tuberculosis for the first time. The children were assessed at the time of diagnosis and were retraced in 1987. The incidence of tuberculosis among foreign children was 10-40 times that among Danish children. Pronounced differences in the localizations of tuberculosis in Danes and foreigners were observed. Whereas the Danish children had exclusively pulmonary tuberculosis, 13 of the foreign children had either extrapulmonary tuberculosis or pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis simultaneously. Two of the foreign children had tuberculosis meningitis and one miliary tuberculosis. Significantly more patients with bacillary tuberculosis were present among foreigners than among Danes. No significant differences were found between the occurrence of symptoms, Mantoux-positive reactions, previous Calmette vaccination or known contact with a person with tuberculosis in Danes and foreigners. Treatment was followed as prescribed and all were cured from tuberculosis. One child with tuberculosis meningitis developed slight sequelae while the remainder of the children developed somatically normally.