BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem globally. Little is known about TB incidence in adolescents who are a proposed target group for new TB vaccines. We conducted a study to determine the TB incidence rates and risk factors for TB disease in a cohort of school-going adolescents in a high TB burden area in South Africa. METHODS: We recruited adolescents aged 12 to 18 years from high schools in Worcester, South Africa. Demographic and clinical information was collected, a tuberculin skin test (TST) performed and blood drawn for a QuantiFERON TB Gold assay at baseline. Screening for TB cases occurred at follow up visits and by surveillance of registers at public sector TB clinics over a period of up to 3.8 years after enrolment. RESULTS: A total of 6,363 adolescents were enrolled (58% of the school population targeted). During follow up, 67 cases of bacteriologically confirmed TB were detected giving an overall incidence rate of 0.45 per 100 person years (95% confidence interval 0.29-0.72). Black or mixed race, maternal education of primary school or less or unknown, a positive baseline QuantiFERON assay and a positive baseline TST were significant predictors of TB disease on adjusted analysis. CONCLUSION: The adolescent TB incidence found in a high burden setting will help TB vaccine developers plan clinical trials in this population. Latent TB infection and low socio-economic status were predictors of TB disease.
Reference:
Mahomed, H., Ehrlich, R., Hawkridge, T., Hatherill, M., Geiter, L., Kafaar, F., ... & Hussey, G. D. (2013). TB incidence in an adolescent cohort in South Africa. PLoS One, 8(3), e59652. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0059652
Mahomed, H., Ehrlich, R., Hawkridge, T., Hatherill, M., Geiter, L., Kafaar, F., ... Geldenhuys, H. (2013). TB incidence in an adolescent cohort in South Africa. PLoS One, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16185
Mahomed, Hassan, Rodney Ehrlich, Tony Hawkridge, Mark Hatherill, Lawrence Geiter, Fazlin Kafaar, Deborah Ann Abrahams, Humphrey Mulenga, Michele Tameris, and Hennie Geldenhuys "TB incidence in an adolescent cohort in South Africa." PLoS One (2013) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16185
Mahomed H, Ehrlich R, Hawkridge T, Hatherill M, Geiter L, Kafaar F, et al. TB incidence in an adolescent cohort in South Africa. PLoS One. 2013; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16185.
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.