A groundbreaking study by researchers from the UCT's Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH), and the University of São Paulo, has revealed a critical gap in understanding the risk of tuberculosis (TB) in children. The researchers found that there was a high risk of TB infection and disease in children up to 10 years old who lived in areas where TB spread was common. The findings are published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.

An estimated 1.2 million children develop TB, and 200 000 kids die from TB worldwide each year, but the risk of developing TB infection and disease throughout childhood remains under-studied. Furthermore, the majority of studies on the paediatric burden of TB are informed by data from patients in healthcare settings, rather than people in real-world, community settings.

The study is the first birth cohort study to assess TB infection and active TB disease during children’s first decade of life in high-burden settings. The new results found that there was a consistently high rate of annual TB infection among children in the study group – between 4 and 9% – and that more than 10% of children developed TB disease by the time they were 10 years old. The study builds upon a previous analysis by some of the researchers, which also found high rates of TB infection and disease in children up to five years old.

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