1979 Volume 54 Issue 4 Pages 237-242
In the previous reports, 2, 392 household members of 815 newly registered tuberculosis patients at the 12 health centers in Osaka prefecture during the period from January to June, 1976, were studied, and 1, 303 persons (54. 5%) were available for the family contacts examination performed within 3 months after registration (here-in-after called 1st year), and 26 active cases (2% to the total number examined) were discovered.
The survey was repeated in the second year in the same manner as done in the 1st yearto know to what extent the family contacts examination was performed and how many patients were discovered during the period from October, 1976, to December, 1977, (here-in-after called 2nd year) for 1, 980 family contacts of 704 patients, excluding 111 patients discharged from registration by the end of 1977 (Table 1). The examination was performed for 24.3% during the 2nd year (Table 2), and 17 active cases were discovered (0.86% to the total household members). Among them, 10 cases (2.1% to the total examined) were discovered by family contacts examination and the remaining 7 cases by symptomatic visit to general practitioners (Table 3, 4).
The detection rate of new patients was higher among contacts of bacilli positive cases than among contacts of non-bacillary cases (Table 5).
These new patients were found not only among persons who were not examined at 1st year but also among persons who were examined without any particular findings Observing by the age group of new cases, 2 cases were in infants, 2 in school children, 2 in high school students and 10 in adults (Table 6, 7).
From the above mentioned results, it can be said that the incidence of new cases among family contacts was high even during the 2nd year after registration of new cases.
The examination of family contacts should therefore be continued at least to the 2nd yeaer as one of procedures for tuberculosis case-findings.
