Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
3364513 International Journal of Infectious Diseases 2009 5 Pages PDF
Abstract

SummaryBackgroundTuberculosis is a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in Nigeria. Diagnosis of childhood tuberculosis is a global challenge making early treatment a mirage. In this study we investigated the stools of children for the presence of mycobacteria.MethodsStool samples from children aged 3 days to 3 years who presented for postnatal immunization at a large university-based clinic in Nigeria, were subjected to Ziehl–Neelsen staining. Samples with acid-fast bacilli were further processed using mycobacterial culture, spoligotyping, and deletion typing.ResultsOne hundred and ninety-two stool samples from different children were collected and processed. Thirty (15.6%) had acid-fast bacilli. Of these, eight had Mycobacterium tuberculosis and one had Mycobacterium africanum.ConclusionsApproximately 5% (9/192) of apparently well children had evidence of potentially serious tuberculosis infection. The usefulness of stool specimens for diagnosing pediatric tuberculosis warrants further investigation.

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Life Sciences Immunology and Microbiology Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
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