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Childhood tuberculosis in Lambaréné, Gabon: tuberculosis control in its infancy?

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Abstract

Central Africa is a region highly affected by the tuberculosis (TB) pandemic; however, data on local epidemiology are scarce. In the quest for gearing up towards tailored interventions, assessment of local baseline situations is mandatory. We conducted a retrospective study of 62 children registered in the TB register of a hospital in Lambaréné, Gabon. The evaluation revealed a discrepancy between the TB burden and the commitment to control TB. Extrapolation of the incidence suggests an unexpectedly high childhood TB burden, assuming that the official overall TB incidence is an underestimate of the true TB burden in Gabon.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Kara Osbak for her thoughtful comments on this manuscript.

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest. MP Grobusch and S Janssen are supported by the UBS OPTIMUS Foundation.

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Author notes

  1. S. Bélard

    Present address: Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL), Lambaréné, BP 13901, Libreville, Gabon

    A. Flamen, S. Bélard, S. Janssen & M. P. Grobusch

  2. Department of Paediatrics, Albert Schweitzer Hospital Lambaréné, Lambaréné, Gabon

    A. Flamen & C. Kokou

  3. Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    S. Bélard, S. Janssen & M. P. Grobusch

  4. Division of Internal Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases, Center of Tropical Medicine and Travel Medicine, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    S. Bélard, S. Janssen & M. P. Grobusch

Authors
  1. A. Flamen
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  2. S. Bélard
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  3. C. Kokou
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  4. S. Janssen
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  5. M. P. Grobusch
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. Bélard.

Additional information

A. Flamen and S. Bélard contributed equally to this work.

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Flamen, A., Bélard, S., Kokou, C. et al. Childhood tuberculosis in Lambaréné, Gabon: tuberculosis control in its infancy?. Infection 42, 161–164 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-013-0529-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-013-0529-5

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