CALCIFIED FOCI AS AN INDEX TO ESTIMATE THE PREVALENCE OF TUBERCULOSIS

Abstract

In order to estimate the prevalence of tuberculosis in various age-groups in Japan, the author tried to use the prevalence of calcified foci (primary complex) obtained from the mass X-ray survey in Fukuoka city.
The prevalence rate of calcified foci of young people was lower than that reported in the previous papers.
The incidence rate of new cases in various age-groups showed close correlation with the prevalence rate of calcified foci.
The result suggests that the prevalence of tuberculosis infection is low among younger generation, while it is pretty high in the older age-groups, and accordingly the method of controlling tuberculosis must be different in the younger and older age-groups.