Prevalence and determinants of tuberculosis infection among pastoralist children in Ibarapa region of Oyo State, South-Western Nigeria – 2018

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the top 10 causes of childhood morbidity and mortality especially in endemic areas of the world. Children especially newborns, are at risk of infection and sometimes develop severe form of the disease. We investigated the prevalence and determinants of TB amongst pastoralist children in Ibarapa Area, southwestern Nigeria, a population at risk of infection. Methods and materials: We conducted a cross-sectional study among 341 children of less than 15 years, using a multi-stage sampling technique between March and June 2018. We used the WHO screening guideline to classify all recruited children as presumptive case or otherwise. We collected stool, sputum, cheek and tongue swab samples from presumptive TB cases for culture and molecular analyses (genus and deletion typing). We calculated frequencies and proportions, generated odds ratios at 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Three hundred and forty-one children were screened with a male-to-female ratio of 1:1. Of these, 176 (51.6%) were classified as presumptive cases and 68 (19.9%) had history of BCG vaccination that were confirmed by either scar formation or sighting of vaccination card. A total of 30 (11.5%) Mycobacteria spp. positive culture growths were obtained; with 11 (3.2%) of the isolates confirmed as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, while others were non-tuberculous mycobacteria. Females were more likely to contract TB infection than males (AOR: 1.8, 95%CI: 0.4–5.1); while being a presumptive case (AOR: 8.4, 95%CI: 2.7–19.3), caregivers having no formal education (AOR: 3.7, 95%CI: 2.2–11.7) were predictors of TB infection. Conclusion: Confirmation of tuberculosis among children screened suggests an ongoing transmission of the disease in the communities surveyed. Children with positive laboratory results were enrolled in the DOTs programme. We disseminated findings and advocated for improved screening and active case finding for childhood tuberculosis in Nigeria particularly among the neglected pastoralist communities.