ECDC Guidance: investigation and control of TB incidents affecting children in congregate settings

The report published today provides public health guidance on how to investigate and control a tuberculosis incident among children - such as an outbreak -, in congregate settings outside the household. The findings are the end result of an assessment of current national health practices, policies and guidelines and of the conclusions of an ad hoc independent expert panel.   The assessment of current common practices in the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) identified that most countries follow similar approaches in the investigation and control phases of tuberculosis (TB) incidents. ECDC gathered the different components of generic outbreak management and TB policies and guidelines to develop a comprehensive guidance on: Triggers and scope of a TB incident investigation Preparedness, planning, responsibilities Investigation and control of a TB incident Communication plan Incident/outbreak documentation and evaluation With this document, ECDC encourages EU/EAA countries to raise the profile of childhood TB in national childhood TB prevention and control strategies and guidelines. Related links Framework Action Plan to Fight Tuberculosis in the European Union http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications/Publications/0803_SPR_TB_Action_plan.pdf Management of contacts of MDR TB and XDR TB patients http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications/Publications/201203-Guidance-MDR-TB-contacts.pdf