Search

Objective To estimate the annual risk of tuberculosis infection (ARTI) among tribal children of Madhya Pradesh, central India. Methods Community-based, cross-sectional tuberculin survey among children aged 1–9 years in the tribal population of Madhya Pradesh. Multistage stratified cluster sampling was used to select a representative random sample of villages predominated by tribal population from selected districts. A total of 4802 children were tuberculin-tested with 1TU of PPD RT 23 and the reaction sizes read after 72 h. Results A total of 3062 (64%) children had no BCG scar. The frequency distribution of children by reaction sizes indicated a fair mode at 18 mm in the right hand side of the distribution. By mirror-image technique, the prevalence of infection among children with no recognizable BCG scar was estimated as 6.8% (95% CI: 4.8–8.9%). The ARTI was computed as 1.3% (0.9–1.7%). The corresponding figures for children irrespective of scar status were 7.1% (95% CI: 5.5–8.8%) and 1.3% (1.0–1.7%) respectively. Conclusions The risk of tuberculosis infection in tribal population of Madhya Pradesh, central India is not different from other areas of the country. There is, however, a need to further intensify tuberculosis control measures on a sustained and long-term basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cross sectional tuberculin survey was undertaken to estimate the Annual Risk of Tuberculosis Infection (ARTI) amongst tribal children aged 1-9 years in Jhabua district, Madhya Pradesh, India. Of the 1056 test-read children, 774 (73.3 %) had no BCG scar. The prevalence of infection was estimated as 6.3% (95% CI: 4.8-7.7) and ARTI as 1.2 % (95% CI: 0.9-1.5). The findings suggest that the tuberculosis situation in the tribal population of Jhabua district is not that different from the situation among the non-tribal population in the country. However, there is a need to further intensify tuberculosis control measures in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]