Childhood tuberculosis: a concern of the modern world

Childhood tuberculosis is a potentially lethal disease, which is underdiagnosed and undertreated http://ow.ly/yTJyt As childhood tuberculosis (TB) reflects recent transmission, its burden provides an accurate measure of the level of TB control achieved in a particular community. Moreover, infected children represent the main reservoir of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) as potential future cases. However, childhood TB is neglected by scientists, policy makers, healthcare professionals and product developers Moreover, the interests of individual patients and public health may be conflicting. As children are considered in the majority of cases as noncontagious, asymptomatic disease is frequently ignored This is why, in 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed a roadmap aiming to achieve zero deaths due to childhood TB by 2025 [3]. This article aims to highlight the underestimated reality of childhood TB, emphasising improved diagnosis possibilities and new treatment modalities, and advocating for dedicated paediatric operational research and clinical trials.