Tuberculosis among Families of Children with Suspected Tuberculosis and Employees at a Children's Hospital

Children with tuberculosis are rarely contagious, but their caregivers may be. Only 7 (12%) of 59 children were potentially contagious, and 10 (17%) were accompanied by contagious adults. Screening caregivers was more cost-effective than performing employee contact investigations, with one-sixteenth the cost ($5,470 vs $88,323) and requiring screening of 35 times fewer persons.