Spread of tuberculosis among household contacts of multi drug resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB) patients

Introduction WHO recommends contact tracing of MDRTB patients to prevent further spread. This study was undertaken in this background to know the proportion of MDRTB among the household contacts of MDRTB patients registered in the national control program (DOTS Plus) in Thrissur Kerala(India) Objective To find out the proportion of MDRTB among household contacts of MDRTB patients Method This is a cross sectional study among household contacts of MDRTB patients registered under DOTS Plus in Thrissur District from 2010 to 2013 and is compared with an equal number of drug sensitive TB( DSTB). All contacts were examined and those with symptoms or signs were subjected to Chest X-ray and sputum examination. Diagnosis of TB was made either by sputum positivity or by previous treatment for confirmed TB. MDRTB was diagnosed by drug sensitivity tests. Result There were 74 MDR TB patients registered in DOTS Plus of which 61( 82.4%) were studied.Number of household contacts of MDRTB were 260 and that of DSTB were 177.Contacts with symptoms in MDRTB group 30.38%(n 79) and DSTB group 35.55(n 63).Contacts with proven TB in MDRTB group 4.61%(n 12; 95% CI 2.1- 7.2%), in DSTB group 6.21% (n 11 95% CI 2.7- 9.8%) p valve 0.536.Number of patients with MDRTB among contacts with MDRTB patients 1.15% (n 3) and that in DSTB patients 0% Conclusion The household contacts of MDRTB can develop both drug sensitive as well as drug resistant tuberculosis.There were no resistant TB among household contacts of DSTB Reference 1)Singla N, Singla R, Jain G, Habib L, Behera DTuberculosis among household contacts of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis patients in Delhi, IndiaInt J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2011 Oct;15(10):1326-30.