- Tuberculosis in children - Actual problems of modern
- Treatment
Children tuberculosis - a problem which is difficult to overestimate the significance. According to the World Health Organization, each year worldwide die from TB to 74,000 children, while 500,000 children each year are diagnosed tuberculosis. In this case, the number of deaths from tuberculosis included only children not infected with HIV. In view of the HIV-infected children total number of victims of tuberculosis, the age of majority, may be much greater. In addition, it is impossible to say how many cases where tuberculosis is not diagnosed in children because of the fact that children living in poor areas with no access to quality health services.
What are the symptoms of tuberculosis in children
TB symptoms depend on the stage and type of mold. Primary tuberculosis in children often occurs without any symptoms or signs leads to a characteristic of colds and flu, which do not cause parents to worry. Typically, after a few weeks, these symptoms disappear, and the disease spills over into a latent form - a tuberculosis is not contagious and can not be shown until the end of life. In such cases, only skin test for tuberculosis in children may show that the child's body in the presence of mycobacteria. However, in some cases, it may develop active TB disease that requires immediate treatment.
About half of infants and preschool children, who by a chest X-ray was diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis, symptoms were absent or were expressed very weakly. Often the first symptoms of tuberculosis
Symptoms of TB - how to recognize the disease
in children, such as non-productive cough and slight discomfort parents practically do not pay attention, believing that they are caused by the common cold, and can get rid of them with the help of folk remedies. In many other cases, no signs of disease, and tuberculosis is detected only occasionally, for example, in a survey of people exposed to an infected person.
With the active form of the disease may experience the following symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis in children: unhealthy appearance, a cough that persists for a long time, heat, frequent respiratory infections, too slow weight gain or weight loss.
Congenital tuberculosis in infants and can cause symptoms such as shortness of breath, swollen lymph nodes, and the formation of plaques on the skin. This kind of TB is very rare, but can lead to serious consequences, including the death of a child. Symptoms of congenital tuberculosis sometimes occur immediately after birth, and sometimes - only the eighth week of life; On average, this occurs at the age of 2-4 weeks.
If you notice possible signs of TB in children, even very mild, and if you know that the child is able to contact with TB patients as soon as possible consult a physician. The sooner treatment begins, the less likely that the disease will lead to complications and have a negative impact on child development.
Diagnosis of tuberculosis in children
For the diagnosis of TB in children is primarily used tuberculin skin test (Mantoux test). As a skin test for tuberculosis
Tuberculosis - a full recovery is not guaranteed
children can give a false positive result when a child has been vaccinated against tuberculosis and, besides, it does not allow to set the shape and type of the disease, it is also used for the diagnosis analysis of gamma-interferon secretion, chest radiography, sputum. Sometimes it is also required bronchoscopy
Bronchoscopy - unpleasant but necessary
, Computed tomography, urine analysis (for suspected tuberculosis, kidney) and, in very rare cases, a biopsy.
Prevention of TB in children
The most effective way to prevent TB in children is to limit the child's contact with people infected with tuberculosis. However, to make it possible to not always - many people do not recognize that they have an open form of tuberculosis, and continue to work, to visit public places and to communicate with relatives, presenting a potential threat to them. There is a small risk of "catch" TB in kindergarten, in school, at the mall or on public transport - in short, any place where people may be infected. Therefore, many experts recommend to be used for the prevention of tuberculosis vaccine BCG.
The first vaccination against tuberculosis
Vaccination against tuberculosis - is useful and necessary
children was made in the 20s of the last century, and since then the world has been used for about three billion doses of vaccine, but its effectiveness remains a matter of debate in the medical community and general recommendations on its use does not exist
. Thus, WHO recommends vaccinating all children immediately after birth, and in some countries, vaccination is recommended to do only under certain conditions, for example, to prevent TB in infants, contact with people diagnosed with tuberculosis caused by drug-resistant bacteria - and only Where the stop contact, potentially dangerous for the child, can not be
. Vaccination is contraindicated in children with primary or secondary immunodeficiencies, for example, caused by taking steroids or HIV infection
. However, in countries where the risk of tuberculosis infection is very high, it is often recommended to be vaccinated, including, and children with asymptomatic HIV infection
.