Latin mother with young girl, Pediatric TB diagnosis and management
icon-tb-management
TB Management

Pediatrics

Tuberculosis prevention in children

Children can get infected with tuberculosis (TB) bacteria (M. tuberculosis) and not have active disease. However once infected, children with vulnerable immune systems, such as the very young, HIV-infected or severely malnourished, are most at risk of progressing to active TB disease.

Even though TB is a preventable and curable disease, it continues to impact the lives and development of millions of children around the world. Children represent about 11% of all people with TB globally, with over 1.1 million children falling ill with it every year (1).

Can we protect children from TB?

Yes – latent TB infection (LTBI) testing and treatment can ensure TB disease prevention after exposure to the TB bacteria. Watch a webinar below with pediatric TB experts to understand how testing and treating pediatric LTBI can help prevent development of TB disease in children.

Male boy with mask talking to a doctor, Pediatrics
Join TB experts as they discuss the importance of testing and treating pediatric LTBI

In this webinar, pediatric TB experts Dr. Ann M Loeffler (Pediatric TB Consultant Curry International Tuberculosis Center) and Dr. Danilo Buonsenso (Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A. Gemelli”), along with our moderator Dr. Riccardo Alagna (Medical Affairs, Infectious diseases and TB, QIAGEN), discuss the role of LTBI testing in clinical and diagnostic TB management of children. They also present international recommendations and LTBI tests performances in the context of LTBI diagnosis.

GO TO THE WEBINAR

Choose a TB test you can trust for children

TB screening is strongly recommended in children and adolescents younger than 15 years who are close contacts of individuals with TB, and children younger than 10 years who are living with HIV. TST or IGRA can be used to test for TB infection (1). 

QuantiFERON TB testing employs a simple blood test (IGRA) to aid in the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. In its Global Tuberculosis Report 2020, the WHO concludes that its previously endorsed QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) test is one of only two commercially available IGRAs that may be used for testing latent TB infection (2).

QFT-Plus is an accurate, convenient and cost-effective IGRA to screen children for TB infection.

  • Single patient visit
  • Unaffected by prior BCG vaccination
  • Innovative CD8 T cell technology
QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus tubes
Reduce the risk of active TB among children with QFT-Plus
QFT-Plus is the modern alternative to the tuberculin skin test.
Find out more
References:
  1. WHO. (2021) WHO consolidated guidelines on tuberculosis. Module 5: Management of tuberculosis in children and adolescents.
  2. World Health Organization. (2020) Global tuberculosis report.
    https://www.who.int/tb/data

QFT-Plus is an in vitro diagnostic aid for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. QFT-Plus is an indirect test for M. tuberculosis infection (including disease) and is intended for use in conjunction with risk assessment, radiography, and other medical and diagnostic evaluations. QFT-Plus Package Inserts, available in multiple languages, as well as up-to-date licensing information and product-specific disclaimers can be found at www.QuantiFERON.com.