Mediators of Tuberculosis Infection amongst Children that are Household Contacts of Adults with Tuberculosis in Mbabane, Swaziland

Kathryn Mackenzie Hicks, The University of Texas School of Public Health

Abstract

Each year, globally, there are over 191,000 pediatric deaths due to tuberculosis, thus ranking tuberculosis as one of the top 10 most common causes of death in children under 5 years of age. Targeted prevention efforts and chemoprophylaxis have the ability to drastically lower infection rates and subsequently to lower the rates of disease and death in children. This study aimed to identify risk factors for infection, in order to guide prevention efforts and cost-effectively identify children at risk. A cohort of pediatric tuberculosis contacts (n=83) was identified from within a larger immunologic study conducted in Mbabane, Swaziland, and a risk factor analysis was performed on their baseline demographics, clinical data, and tuberculosis infection status. Exposure to household tobacco smoke and time spent in a kombi (minibus providing public transportation) were found to be related to the likelihood of tuberculosis infection in children under the age of 15 years. As this cohort continues to grow as part of on-going research, these analyses can be repeated to provide more robust estimates of potential associations. Nevertheless, our current evidence suggests that public health efforts targeting smoking cessation efforts in the general population and improved air-flow within kombis could help to prevent the spread of TB and decrease rate of tuberculosis infection in Swaziland.

Subject Area

Epidemiology

Recommended Citation

Hicks, Kathryn Mackenzie, "Mediators of Tuberculosis Infection amongst Children that are Household Contacts of Adults with Tuberculosis in Mbabane, Swaziland" (2018). Texas Medical Center Dissertations (via ProQuest). AAI10790712.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/dissertations/AAI10790712

Share

COinS