Tuberculous infection in Saharia, a primitive tribal community of Central India.
A cross-sectional tuberculin survey was carried out to estimate the prevalence of tuberculous infection and the annual risk of tuberculosis infection (ARTI) among children of Saharia, a primitive ethnic group in Madhya Pradesh, Central India. A total of 1341 children aged 1-9 years were subjected to tuberculin testing with 1 TU of PPD RT 23 and the reaction sizes were read after 72 h. The proportion of BCG scar-positive children was 34.6%. The frequency distribution of children by reaction sizes indicated a clear-cut anti-mode at 11 mm and a mode at 18 mm at the right-hand side of the distribution. The prevalence of infection among children irrespective of BCG scar was estimated as 20.4% (95% CI 18.2-22.5%) and the ARTI was 3.9% (95% CI 3.5-4.3%). The corresponding figures were 21.1% (95% CI 18.3-23.8%) and 3.9% (95% CI 3.4-4.5%) among BCG scar-negative children and 19.0% (95% CI 15.4-22.5%) and 4.0% (95% CI 3.2-4.8%) among BCG scar-positive children. The findings of the present study show a high prevalence of tuberculous infection and high ARTI in this primitive ethnic group. There is an urgent need to further intensify tuberculosis control measures on a sustained and long-term basis in this area.
Rao
V G
VG
Regional Medical Research Centre for Tribals, Indian Council of Medical Research, Nagpur Road, P.O. Garha, Jabalpur 482 003, India. drvgrao@rediffmail.com
Gopi
P G
PG
Yadav
R
R
Sadacharam
K
K
Bhat
J
J
Subramani
R
R
Anvikar
A R
AR
Tiwari
B K
BK
Vasantha
M
M
Bhondeley
M K
MK
Gadge
V
V
Eusuff
S I
SI
Shukla
G P
GP
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis / Q000276:immunology; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012423:Rural Health; D014374:Tuberculin Test / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000453:epidemiology*