JawaPos.com – Jakarta, Dimas Dwi Saputro, a pediatrician at Harapan Kita Children and Mother Hospital (RSAB), said the younger the child, the more likely he is to get tuberculosis (TB) with severe symptoms.
Speaking in a virtual discussion on Health Radio of the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes), followed by Jakarta, on Thursday, Dimas said that all children have the same risk of contracting it. However, the chance of being infected with symptoms or active TB differs in each age group, cited by Antara (5/1)
“Below 2 years of age risk of severe tuberculosis is very high compared to children between the ages of 2 and 5,” he said.
According to him, the risk of developing tuberculosis begins to decrease at the age of 5-10 years. But when the child is above this, the risk of tuberculosis can increase again.
“Bottom line, the younger the child, the more severe the TB symptoms can be accepted and when severe TB symptoms can go to the brain,” Dimas said.
Spread of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria in the brain has the potential to have sequelae in children with cerebral tuberculosis. It can interfere with the growth and development of children as they recover.
The TB itself is transmitted through droplet or saliva that can be airborne. The bacteria that cause the disease can survive in the air for at least 4 hours.
For cases in children, most of the transmission occurs from adults to children who are around tuberculosis patients.
Some of the symptoms of tuberculosis in children are weight loss in certain periods, long or recurring fever, and long-lasting cough that does not improve even with medication.
According to data from the Ministry of Health, in 2021 of the target of 969,000 new cases of tuberculosis, 50-60 percent of them have just been discovered. For this reason, the Ministry of Health is pushing for an increase in TB screening to support the elimination of the disease by 2030.
Publisher: Dinarsa Kurniawan
Reporter: In the middle
