Does cytomegalovirus infection increase the risk of tuberculosis in UK children?

There is a hypothesised association between pre-existing cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and risk of acquiring tuberculosis (TB). We aimed to explore if CMV seroprevalence and CMV IgG levels in children were associated with TB disease or Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection compared to children who were exposed to TB but remained well. In this cross-sectional analysis from an observational cohort study of children exposed to TB in their household in the United Kingdom, we examined samples from seventy-five participants, of whom 40 (53%) were male. Median age of the cohort was 6 years (interquartile range: 3-11 years). Twenty-one (28%) children had TB disease, 27 (36%) had Mtb infection, and 27 (36%) had TB exposure only. There was no increased risk of TB in children who were CMV-seropositive (OR 2.18 (0.75-6.48)), and there were no differences in CMV IgG quantification by TB category. There was no detectable CMV viraemia in any of the children in our study. We found higher levels of CMV seroprevalence (49%) than previously described in the United Kingdom. In this small study of children exposed to TB, in a low TB burden setting, we found no association between CMV serostatus or CMV IgG titre and TB status.

Additional Information

We have submitted our raw data. This file contains data for 75 participants (children and adolescents) who had been exposed to a household TB contact. They had subsequently been categorised as having active TB disease, LTBI (Mtb sensitisation), or no evidence of TB. CMV seropositivity and CMV IgG levels were obtained for these patients.

Keywords

Children; Cytomegalovirus infection; Tuberculosis; Clinical medicine; TB exposure