[Tubercular infection and its trend among school children in the population of the Barcelona suburbs]. / La infección tuberculosa y su tendencia en los escolares de una población del extrarradio de Barcelona.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis infection is a suitable method to evaluate a community tuberculosis endemic. The calculation of infection indexes (incidence, prevalence, year risk and their decline) have been used to analyze this endemic and ist tendency during 22 years in a suburbial city. METHODS: Practice of the tuberculin test (Mantowx) to almost the totality of schoolchildren during the academic years. 1968-69, 1980-81 and 1981-82; and 1989-90 and 1990-91 as well. During the years 1981-82 and 1990-91, the test was repeated in a sample of schoolchildren to detect the reaction converters (incidence of infection). RESULTS: The prevalence of tuberculosis infection is very high (7.5% in the first primary school year and 15.2% in the 8th primary school year during 1968-69, and decreases to 5.1% and 11.7% during 1980-82 was 2.6% and 1.5% in 1989-91. The decline of the infection risk is very low: about 6% during the whole period, and it is higher: 9%, in its second part. CONCLUSIONS: The high tuberculosis can be related to the population social deficiencies. The favourable tendency observed, during the last ten years, can be attributed to an improvement in the health care and, specifically, in the treatment of patients of tuberculosis.

[Tuberculosis epidemiology in Catalonia: 1982-1989]. / Epidemiología de la tuberculosis en Cataluña: 1982-1989.

The epidemiological indicators of tuberculosis in Catalonia and their trends since 1982 were evaluated. It was shown that the reported morbidity rate has increased because of an increased number of reports, but it probably is still lower than the real one. The epidemiological value of the parameters of tuberculous infection was also shown, particularly the yearly infection rate (YIR), or probability of an individual to be infected. In spite of the multiple interferences that these indexes may have undergone during the past BCG vaccination campaign, their reduction is very important, the yearly reduction of YIR being estimated in 11%.