Role of familial and nonfamilial contacts in the incidence of childhood tuberculosis

Statistics and data on 101 firstly detected children with active tuberculosis in Kemerovo were studied. In 2003 to 2005, there was a marked rise in tuberculosis morbidity among children in the Kemerovo Region, to the utmost in Kemerovo. During a tuberculosis epidemic, a nonfamilial contact mainly with overlooked bacterium-isolating adults plays a leading role in the incidence of tuberculosis. A negligible nonfamilial contact with the registered patients is also of no small importance. Ineffective vaccination increases morbidity rates, in infancy in particular. Timely detection of tuberculosis in adults is the basic way of reducing childhood morbidity.