Childhood tuberculosis - problems ahead

Childhood tuberculosis (TB) is on the increase, both in developing countries and in the UK. Children cannot usually be diagnosed as having TB by sputum microscopy and culture alone, so millions of children are destined to die of undiagnosed TB in poor countries. Drug resistance is likely to affect a greater proportion of TB cases in children, because they have been recently infected by adults. Whilst BCG vaccination can protect against miliary TB and TB meningitis, it will not interrupt the chain of transmission. HIV co-infected mothers are capable of passing congenital TB to their children.