Prevalence and annual risk of tuberculosis infection in Edirne, Turkey.

Tuberculosis is still an important problem in developing countries. A total of 3,774 students from primary schools in Edirne, Turkey were included in this study in order to determine the annual infection risk for the year 1994. Five tuberculin units of purified protein derivative were applied using a Mantoux test and evaluated. The mean induration diameter was 14.6 mm. A total of 51.6% of the students were found to be sensitive to tuberculin. The annual infection risk of tuberculosis was found to be 1.51%, lower than that found in 1987. Other studies from Turkey have reported lower values than ours. We did not diagnose any cases of tuberculosis. We revealed that the annual infection risk among primary schoolchildren in Edirne is close to the average for Turkey and thus tuberculosis is still a serious risk for these children. Tuberculosis remains an important public health problem in Turkey and is partially attributable to socioeconomic difficulties.