Tuberculosis screening using the recombinant tuberculosis allergen among adolescents and young adults

Objective. To investigate the efficiency of the Mantoux test and recombinant tuberculosis allergen (RTA) test in identifying patients with tuberculosis among adolescents and young adults, who were students of the colleges and universities of Stavropol. Subjects and methods. A total of 9,099 adolescents were examined using the Mantoux test (Stavropol, 2009-2011) and 18,597 students aged 15-25 years were screened using RTA (Stavropol, 2012-2016). The size of the groups at high risk for tuberculosis was estimated. Results. Among the persons who had positive Mantoux tests, the hyperergic sensitivity to tuberculin was determined in 36 (0.4%) cases; one case of active tuberculosis was found; the detection rate was 0.1 per 1,000 examinations. Among those who had positive RTA tests, the hyperergic sensitivity was determined in 42 (23.5%) of the students; there were 3 cases of active tuberculosis and 10 cases of post-tuberculosis changes among the young people. The detection rate was 0.16 per 1,000 examinations, with 3.3 per 1,000 examinations among foreign students. Conclusion. Screening using RTA showed its high efficiency in diagnosing active disease and latent tuberculosis infection in adolescents and young adults.

tuberculosis, screening, Mantoux test, recombinant tuberculosis allergen test, latent tuberculosis infection