Trend of Childhood TB Notifications in Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Childhood tuberculosis (CTB) accounted for 10% of the total global tuberculosis (TB) burden in 2017.  During the same year, CTB accounted for only 6% of the total TB cases notified by the National TB control programme (NTP) in Nigeria giving credence to the widely held belief that, over the past few years, clinicians and public health officials in the country may have given more attention to the diagnosis and treatment of TB in adults compared to children, resulting in under reporting of the true burden of the disease.  Thus this study assessed the trend of childhood TB notifications in Nigeria, from 2012 to 2016.Methods: Retrospective record review of childhood TB cases notified by the NTP between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2016.  Results: A total of 27,793 CTB cases, representing 5.8% of all forms of TB cases, were notified and treated during the study period. This proportion is more or less similar for every year within the period under review.Conclusion: The case notification rate of TB among children has plateaued within the period under review.  Efforts should be made to improve CTB detection, reporting and notification into the NTP Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) system.

Keywords: Tuberculosis, World Health Organization, Bauchi, Childhood TB, National TB Control Programme, Caregivers, Quality of Life, Monitoring and Evaluation, Northeastern Nigeria.