Tuberculosis contact investigation and short-course preventive therapy among young children in Africa.

The largest cities in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Central African Republic. To demonstrate the feasibility and document the effectiveness of household contact investigation and preventive therapy in resource-limited settings. Children under 5 years living at home with adults with bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) were screened using questionnaire, clinical examination, tuberculin skin test and chest X-ray.

Outcomes of a nine-month regimen for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis up to 24 months after treatment completion in nine African countries.

Background: Treatment outcomes of the shorter regimen for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis are not completely established. We report on these outcomes two years after treatment completion among patients enrolled in an observational cohort study in nine African countries.

Methods: 1,006 patients treated with the nine-month regimen were followed every six months with sputum cultures up to 24 months after treatment completion.