Become a member
Quick Registration
Full Registration Benefits -
Free Homepages for Doctors
Free Homepages for Hospitals
Free Homepages for Medical Conference
Free Homepages for NGO's
Personal Health Record Creation
Access to all Medical Slides
Access to all Jobs & Products Sale
Prevention Treatment Beneficial for Children Exposed to Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis Bacterium | |
|
| |
Children who are exposed to people infected
with multidrug resistant tuberculosis may benefit from prevention programs,
suggest study.
Prevention is always better than cure especially in the case of fatal diseases where the causative agents remain resistive to many therapeutic drugs and the treatment is expensive.
Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis with a high mortality rate is highly resistant to the standard drugs, rifampicin and isoniazid, commonly used to treat the tuberculosis disease.
Exposure to MDR Mycobacterium tuberculosis makes the children highly susceptible to infection, which progresses to disease within a year in 90% of the cases. Infants with HIV infection are 20 times more likely to acquire the tuberculosis disease. This had prompted a team of researchers to explore the available treatment options, methodologies and guidelines to prevent the disease in children exposed to MDR tuberculosis bacterium.
According to the review a prevention program is more beneficial to children living under the same roof along with the person infected with MDR tuberculosis disease.
The risk factors for contracting the disease is estimated using tuberculin skin test (TST) and interferon-γ-release assays, degree of exposure to the MDR Mycobacterium tuberculosis and drug susceptibility of the bacterial strain.
The various International guidelines for prevention of the disease in children who are in close proximity with patients inflicted with the MDR tuberculosis disease are as follows.
• WHO recommends a daily dosage of 10 mg/kg of isoniazid for 6 months for children below 5 years.
• The National Department of Health of South Africa recommends a high-dosage (15 mg/kg) of isoniazid to children below 5 years.
Of the various standard drugs used to treat tuberculosis, Levofloxacin, a Fluoroquinolones and Ethionamide were found to be potential drugs in a preventive treatment for Multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis.
The authors also recommend a high dose of isoniazid for a period of six months.
Parents and children need to be counseled about the benefits of the preventive treatment and the need to follow the prescriptions for the treatment to be successful.
HIV infection in children influences the initiation of the preventive program for MDR tuberculosis. When the child is simultaneously diagnosed with HIV infection and exposed to MDR tuberculosis bacterium, it is suggested to begin the preventive treatment before the initiation of the antiretroviral treatment.
Children infected with HIV often suffer from chronic diarrhoea, which could affect the absorption of MDR Tuberculosis Preventive treatment and HIV treatment.
The adverse effects of the drugs, other factors influencing the treatment in children still remain unexplored.
With MDR tuberculosis disease rising at an alarming rate the experts feel there is a critical need for in-depth research to assess the effectives of the drugs and treatment in order to control the disease.
Reference: Management of children exposed to multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis; The Lancet Infectious Diseases Feb 2012.
Source-Medindia
| |
|
|
More News on: Tuberculosis, Development Milestone, Height and Weight-Kids, Tracheostomy, Pleural Effusion, Silicosis, Screening Tests for Tuberculosis, Fever, Cough Symptom Evaluation
 Comment & Contribute
|
Related Links
Tuberculosis
TB spreads through the air when people with an active pulmonary tuberculosis infection cough, sneeze, shout or ...
Novel Tuberculosis Research Technology Promises New TB Treatments
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are developing a new way of culturing tuberculosis bacteria, which could lead to new insights and ...
Global Health Threatened by Multidrug-resistant TB
The World Health Organisation has issued a warning that the dangerous multidrug resistant tuberculosis is fast becoming a serious threat to global ...
Screening Tests for Tuberculosis
Tuberculin skin test and Interferon - Release Assays are tests used to screen for ...
Health In Focus News
Strenuous Working Environment Leads to Diabetes
According to the scientists working in strenuous environment, healthy individuals too are exposed to the threat of developing diabetes. ...
Discarded Kidneys Can Be Used to Generate New Kidneys for Transplantation - Dawn of a New Era in Regenerative Medicine Research
Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in the USA found that human kidneys discarded for transplant can potentially serve as a ...
Flavored Toothbrush for a Pleasant Morning
Toothbrushes are all set to take up a new role. They may soon deliver your morning coffee and get you up and alert even faster. Even more ...
Science Behind the Placebo Effect
Probably the most controversial, yet amazing aspect of medicine is the placebo effect. The idea that somehow, a simple sugar pill, or a drugless ...
Exposure to Toxic Waste can Ruin Health in Kids
Children dwelling at places with abundance of toxic waste in Indonesia, India and Philippines may develop high quantities of lead in their blood ...
Media Reports on Health Hazards May Affect the Health of Some People
Media reports on the adverse effects of substances or technologies can actually trigger the symptoms in some people who read the report, even ...
- Health News Index
 | Quiz on Tuberculosis Tuberculosis is a major health care concern, especially in Africa and South East Asia. Brush up your information on tuberculosis by taking this quiz. 
|
- News Quick Links
 | News Central | | Health Watch | |
| Latest Health News | | Health In Focus | |
| News Category (500+) | | Breaking Health News | |
| Popular News | | Celebrating Life | |
| Health News and Press Release | | Medindia - Exclusive | |
| News Photo Gallery | | India Special | |
| News Video Gallery | | Lifestyle and Wellness | |
| News From Other Resources | |||
 |
Tuberculosis
Complete Medindia Resources
|
| News Categories: |
| » | Study Underlines Benefits of Linking Multiple Health Record Sources |
| » | $100 Monthly can Actually Pay for Health Insurance |
| » | Health Care Costs can be Reduced by ER Docs |
| » | Hospital Use and Costs Not Increased by Massachusetts' Health Care Reform |
| » | Preparation on for Health Care Revamping |
| More Insurance News | |
|
Ask an Expert
