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TropicalMed
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Tuberculosis in Special Populations: Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Interventions
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Tuberculosis in Special Populations: Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Interventions

A special issue of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease (ISSN 2414-6366). This special issue belongs to the section "Infectious Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 1686

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Masoud Dara

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Guest Editor
Public Health Policy, Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
Interests: emerging infectious diseases; infection prevention and control; climate change and vector borne diseases; HIV; viral Hepatitis; sexually transmitted diseases; tuberculosis; global health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Dominik Zenner

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Public Health Policy, Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
Interests: tuberculosis; global health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a global public health emergency, with 10.8 million people reported with having TB disease and 1.25 million lives being lost in 2023 (global tuberculosis report 2024, World Health Organization 2024).

Despite progress, the world is not in track to end TB by 2030. While TB can affect anyone, special populations are more vulnerable to TB infection and disease. Special populations include children, people living with HIV, those suffering from malnutrition or diabetes mellitus, migrants, miners, prisoners and pregnant women, among others.

This Special Edition aims to provide a state-of-the-art summary of global knowledge on  epidemiology and evidence-based interventions which have successfully served special populations and revamped efforts to end TB. We encourage the submission of papers from national programmes, communities affected by TB, researchers, scientists, public health practicitioners, clinicians and global health and laboratory experts.

Dr. Masoud Dara
Dr. Dominik Zenner
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • tuberculosis
  • migrants
  • prisoners
  • children
  • miners
  • vulnerable groups
  • key populations
  • HIV
  • drug resistance

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 251 KiB  
Article
Risk of Latent Tuberculosis Infection Reactivation in Patients Treated with Tumor Necrosis Factor Antagonists: A Five-Year Retrospective Study
by Işıl Deniz Alıravcı, Pınar Mutlu, Sibel Oymak, Ufuk Ilter Guney and Oguzhan Keskin
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2025, 10(7), 190; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed10070190 - 7 Jul 2025
Viewed by 36
Abstract
Background: This study aims to reveal the demographic and clinical data of patients receiving TNF-α blockers, to compare the characteristics of those who received latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) treatment and those who did not, and to evaluate and determine potential risk factors for [...] Read more.
Background: This study aims to reveal the demographic and clinical data of patients receiving TNF-α blockers, to compare the characteristics of those who received latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) treatment and those who did not, and to evaluate and determine potential risk factors for developing active TB disease. Methods: A systematic retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary university hospital examining all patients receiving at least one TNF-α blocker between January 2019 and October 2024. The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) was analyzed across various TNF-α blocker medications in patients, both with and without LTBI treatment. Results: A total of 519 patients had TNF-α blockers: 452 (87.09%) underwent TST, 193 (37.1%) underwent booster TST, and 33 (6.3%) underwent IGRA/TST; 362 (69.7%) were treated for LTBI, and 7 (1.3%) developed TB. Comparing all TNF-α blockers, adalimumab showed a higher risk of TB. Patients with and without LTBI treatment did not significantly differ in TB incidence after biologic therapy. Conclusions: The incidence of TB in people taking TNF-α blockers was higher compared to the incidence in the general population. LTBI screening, including both TST and IGRA, should be performed with TST and IGRA tests, and LTBI-positive individuals should be started on preventive treatment. However, it should not be forgotten that active TB disease may also develop in LTBI-negative individuals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tuberculosis in Special Populations: Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Interventions)
11 pages, 243 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Social and Clinical Factors Associated with Adverse Drug Reactions Among Children with Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Pakistan
by Muhammad Soaib Said, Razia Fatima, Rabbiya Ahmad, Mahmood Basil A. Al Rawi, Faheem Jan, Sobia Faisal, Irfanullah Khan and Amer Hayat Khan
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2025, 10(7), 176; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed10070176 - 20 Jun 2025
Viewed by 363
Abstract
(1) Background: The occurrence, intensity, and characteristics of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) caused by anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs have consistently been a subject of worry. There is a lack of published research from Pakistan regarding the negative effects of anti-TB treatment on children, specifically [...] Read more.
(1) Background: The occurrence, intensity, and characteristics of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) caused by anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs have consistently been a subject of worry. There is a lack of published research from Pakistan regarding the negative effects of anti-TB treatment on children, specifically about ADRs. In this study, we aimed to investigate the ADR associated with anti-DR-TB treatment in children. (2) Methods: A prospective longitudinal study was conducted in the multicenter setting of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A total of 450 TB children in multicenter hospitals under ATT were assessed for ADRs. Naranjo Causality Assessment and Hartwig’s Severity Assessment Scale were used to evaluate the causality and severity. (3) Results: A total of 300 (66.66%) ADRs were reported in 450 people with DRTB. Anemia was the most frequently observed ADR (37.6%) followed by nausea and vomiting (18.6%). On multivariate analysis, the independent variables that had a statistically significant positive association with ADRs were participants aged, 5–14 years (AOR, 0.3 (0.1–0.5), p ≤ 0.001), normal weight (1.1 (2.0–1.9), p < 0.001), and children having comorbidities (AOR, 0.5 (0.1–0.8), p ≤ 0.001). (4) Conclusions: Our findings advocate for personalized treatment approaches, incorporating nutritional support, comprehensive comorbidity management, and vigilant monitoring to mitigate ADRs and improve treatment outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tuberculosis in Special Populations: Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Interventions)
17 pages, 619 KiB  
Article
Incidence, Disease Spectrum, and Outcomes of Tuberculous Meningitis in South African Children: The Initial Impact of COVID-19
by Victoria E. Namukuta, Mariette Smith, Danite Bester, Magriet van Niekerk, Regan Solomons, Ronald van Toorn, Hendrik Simon Schaaf, James A. Seddon, Helena Rabie, Mary-Ann Davies, Anneke C. Hesseling and Karen du Preez
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2025, 10(5), 127; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed10050127 - 7 May 2025
Viewed by 587
Abstract
Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is a very severe form of childhood tuberculosis (TB), requiring hospitalisation for diagnosis. We investigated trends in admission, disease spectrum, outcomes, and healthcare system factors in children with TBM managed at a tertiary referral hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. [...] Read more.
Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is a very severe form of childhood tuberculosis (TB), requiring hospitalisation for diagnosis. We investigated trends in admission, disease spectrum, outcomes, and healthcare system factors in children with TBM managed at a tertiary referral hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of children (<13 years) with TBM admitted from 2017 to 2021. An innovative surveillance algorithm was used to identify all possible TBM episodes using integrated electronic health data. Episodes were clinically verified and data were extracted using medical records. A total of 263 children (median age 2.2 years; IQR: 1.1–5.1), 17 (6.5%) living with HIV were admitted with TBM during 2017 to 2021. There was a significant reduction in TBM admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic (IRR: 0.57, 95% CI:0.39–0.84), particularly in children < 2 years (IRR: 0.31, 95% CI: 0.15–0.62). BCG vaccination was documented in 137/263 (52.1%) and 10/87 (11.5%) eligible children who initiated TB preventive therapy. During the pandemic, children with TBM were significantly more likely to be living with HIV (aOR: 4.01, 95% CI: 1.39–11.62). COVID-19 was associated with a significant reduction in the number of young children admitted with TBM. Many missed opportunities to prevent TBM were identified regardless of COVID-19. Paediatric TBM surveillance is a useful marker to monitor epidemiological trends. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tuberculosis in Special Populations: Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Interventions)
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