Pediatric Tuberculosis-The Grim Reality

Abstract

Abstract: Globally, tuberculosis (TB) continues to exact an unacceptably high toll of disease and death among children, particularly in the wake of the HIV epidemic. Increased international travel and immigration have seen childhood TB rates increase even in traditionally low burden, industrialized settings, and threaten to facilitate the emergence and spread of multi-drug resistant strains. While intense scientific and clinical research efforts into novel diagnostic, therapeutic and preventative interventions have focused on TB in adults, childhood TB has been relatively neglected. However, children are particularly vulnerable to severe disease and death following infection, and those with latent infection become the reservoir of disease reactivation in adulthood, fueling the future epidemic. Further research into the epidemiology, immune mechanisms, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of childhood TB is urgently needed. Advances in our understanding of TB in children would provide wider insights and opportunities to facilitate efforts to control this ancient disease.