RESUMO
Tuberculosis remains a severe public health problem, and is a major cause of infant disease in North Lebanon. We investigated tuberculin sensitivity in 1,405 school children (2 to 15 years old) not previously vaccinated with BCG in a deprived suburb of Tripoli (Lebanon). The Intra-Dermal Reaction (IDR) technique was used with 10 units of tuberculin (Pasteur-Mérieux, France). The prevalence was 4.3%. The score was higher in the lowest socio-economic group (5.7%) than in the middle socio-economic group (2.4%). No members of the upper socio-demographic group live in this area. There were no significant differences between the sexes. The diameter of induration was over 10 mm in 83.6% of cases (95.6% in the lower class and 46.6% in the middle class). The prevalence was higher among children over 10 years old. Chest X-rays were obtained for children with a positive reaction, and all were normal. Similarly, their sputum was tested for Acid Fast Bacilli (AFB) by a double staining technique (Ziehl-Nielsen and auramine), and all scored negative.
