Journal of the Formosan Medical Association
Volume 110, Issue 12 , Pages 737-743, December 2011

Clinical perspectives of childhood tuberculosis in Taiwan

  • Tzong-Shiann Ho

      Affiliations

    • Department of Emergency Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City, Taiwan
    • Center of Infectious Disease and Signaling Research, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Shih-Min Wang

      Affiliations

    • Department of Emergency Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City, Taiwan
    • Center of Infectious Disease and Signaling Research, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Ching-Fen Shen

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pediatrics, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Kuan-Hsien Lee

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pediatrics, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Ching-Chuan Liu

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pediatrics, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City, Taiwan
    • Center of Infectious Disease and Signaling Research, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City, Taiwan
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Department of Pediatrics, National Cheng Kung University Medical College and Hospital, No.138, Sheng-Li Road, Tainan City 70403, Taiwan.

Received 5 November 2011; received in revised form 7 November 2011; accepted 7 November 2011. published online 29 December 2011.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an important public health issue in Taiwan and worldwide. Taiwan has made major progress in combating TB in the past 40 years. However, childhood TB still constitutes a significant challenge in disease control. From January to mid December 2011, 369 new cases of pediatric TB were confirmed. The relatively low case number and variable clinical presentations made it difficult for early detection. Latent TB infections in children also pose further complexity in clinical management. Knowledge of the clinical features of active and latent TB infection is crucial for efficient TB control.

Keywords: childhood tuberculosis, clinical management, latent tuberculosis infection

 

PII: S0929-6646(11)00127-6

doi:10.1016/j.jfma.2011.11.002

Journal of the Formosan Medical Association
Volume 110, Issue 12 , Pages 737-743, December 2011

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