[The study of contacts of tuberculosis patients]

The study and follow-up of contacts is one of the main goals of the battle against tuberculosis. We studied 640 contacts of 141 patients diagnosed of active pulmonary tuberculosis (PT) in our center between 1985 and June 1990. The average per index case (IC) was 4.5. Contacts were classified according to the IC bacteriology (positive bacilloscopy and culture: 448 cases; negative bacilloscopy and positive culture: 126 cases; and both tests negative: 66 cases). PPD was positive in 342 cases (53.4%) and the number of infected contacts was significant when IC showed positive bacilloscopy and culture (251 cases), cough (328 cases). Twelve new cases of tuberculosis (1.9%) were detected, with an average age of 29.6 years. Chemoprophylaxis was completed during one-year period by 121 contacts (43.5%). The systematic study of contacts allow us to detect new patients and infected cases, helping to break the epidemiological chain of transmission of the disease.