[Survey on cases of primary tuberculosis in the department of Gironde].
French official statistics do not mention primary tuberculosis and data on its prevalence are rare, despite the fact that the annual number of cases of primary tuberculosis is a clear indicator of the progression or regression of what remains an endemic disease in Europe. In order to collate information on the subject, a questionnaire was sent to 132 doctors practising in Gironde. These included pulmonologists, pediatricians and child health doctors. One hundred and one questionnaires were returned, listing a total of 18 cases of primary tuberculosis for the first half of 1997. Children were more often affected by the disease and presented a latent form. In 61% of cases, patients infected had not previously received BCG vaccination and in 56% of cases the infectious patient was identified. Furthermore, 4 of the non-vaccinated patients had been in close contact with an infectious patient and 3 patients among these should have been vaccinated since they were living in community structures. The 2 symptomatic cases reported occurred in non-vaccinated adults. This study was of limited-scope and duration but provides interesting information on the population affected by primary tuberculosis. These results underline the necessity of maintaining a high level of BCG vaccination amongst children and adults in community structures if we wish to lower the prevalence of the disease in France.
Portel
L
L
Service de Pneumologie, Hôpital du Haut-Lévêque, Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de Bordeaux, Pessac.
Salamon
M
M
Pasquet
S
S
Tessier
J F
JF
Daucourt
V
V
Dabis
F
F
Courty
G
G
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001500:BCG Vaccine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012042:Registries; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D014611:Vaccination
D001500:BCG Vaccine