Childhood tuberculosis: A roadmap towards zero deaths

Ben J Marais; Stephen M Graham

doi:10.1111/jpc.12647

Childhood tuberculosis: A roadmap towards zero deaths

J Paediatr Child Health. 2016 Mar;52(3):258-61. doi: 10.1111/jpc.12647. Epub 2014 Jun 13.

Authors

Ben J Marais¹, Stephen M Graham²

Affiliations

¹ Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity and the Children's Hospital at Westmead, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
² Centre for International Child Health, Royal Children's Hospital, University of Melbourne and Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

PMID: 24923706
DOI: 10.1111/jpc.12647

Abstract

'Every day, more than 200 children under the age of 15 die needlessly from tuberculosis (TB) - a disease that is preventable and curable. The World Health Organization estimates that as many as 1 in 10 TB cases globally (6-10% of all TB cases) are among this age group, but the number could be even higher because many children are simply undiagnosed.' Childhood TB is emerging from the shadows. This quote comes from the recently launched international roadmap towards zero TB deaths in children. We provide a brief update of new developments and remaining challenges related to childhood TB, with particular emphasis on the new roadmap.

Keywords: childhood; paediatric; roadmap; tuberculosis.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Antitubercular Agents / therapeutic use
Child
Child Mortality / trends*
Child, Preschool
Communicable Disease Control / organization & administration*
Female
Global Health*
Humans
Male
Program Development
Program Evaluation
Risk Assessment
Tuberculosis / drug therapy
Tuberculosis / epidemiology*
Tuberculosis / prevention & control*
World Health Organization

Substances

Antitubercular Agents