Prevalence and Predictors of Tuberculosis Infection in Children and Adolescents in Rural Uganda: A Cross-sectional Study.

Background: Much of the latent tuberculosis (TB) reservoir is established in childhood and adolescence. Yet, age-specific data on prevalence and predictors of infection in this population are sparse and needed to guide prevention and case finding.

Methods: From December 2021 to June 2023, we measured TB infection in children 1-17 years in 25 villages in rural Southwestern Uganda. We defined TB infection as a positive QuantiFERON Gold Plus Test (QFT). We estimated overall and age-stratified population-level prevalence and adjusted risk ratios (aRR) of TB infection for individual, household, and community-based predictors, accounting for age, TB contact, and clustering by household.

Results: Estimated TB infection prevalence was 9.6% [95% confidence interval (CI): 8.7-10.5%] among the 5789 participants, and prevalence varied slightly with age. Household-level risk factors included crowding (aRR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.03-1.53), indoor cooking (aRR: 1.62, 95% CI: 1.14-2.30), living with ≥2 persons who drink alcohol (aRR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.04-2.07). The predominant community-based risk factor was child mobility (aRR: 1.67, 95% CI: 1.24-2.26). In age-stratified analyses, household predictors were important in early childhood but not adolescence, where mobility was predominant (aRR: 1.66, 95% CI: 1.13-2.44).

Conclusion: We detected a high prevalence of TB infection in children and adolescents in rural Uganda. On a population level, TB risk factors change throughout the early life course, with child mobility a key risk factor in adolescence. Age-specific TB case finding and prevention strategies that address both household and extra-household risk factors are needed to address TB transmission.