PMID: 11931396Apr 5, 2002Paper

Contact examination for tuberculosis in Hong Kong is useful

The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease : the Official Journal of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease
K NoertjojoM Chan-Yeung

Abstract

The tuberculosis programme of the Hong Kong Government Tuberculosis and Chest Service. To determine the outcome of examination of household contacts in Hong Kong. A retrospective cohort study of all household contacts of 970 randomly selected index cases from a total of 5757 registered for treatment with the Chest Service. Of 2678 household contacts (three/index case) identified, 90% were examined; 41 active cases were found, at a rate of 1720/100000 (95%CI 1238-2329). The rate was highest among two extremes of age, 3604/100000 (95%CI 990-3615) in children < or = 5 years and 3347/100000 (95%CI 1456-6489) in those >60 years of age. Contacts of index cases whose sputum smear and culture were positive had the highest rate of disease, 2904/100000 (95%CI 1669-4673); but contacts with negative bacteriology also had a high rate of 1478/100000 (95%CI 678-2789). Active cases identified through contact tracing could be source cases rather than secondary cases. Eight per cent of children aged < or = 5 years had positive tuberculin reactions; as BCG vaccination is given to all newborns, with 99% coverage in Hong Kong in the past 30 years, it was difficult to estimate the rate of infection in these children. In Hong Kong, an area with an in...Continue Reading

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