Tuberculosis among Household Contacts in the Municipality of CAXIAS - MA

Tuberculosis (TB) is an important public health problem in Brazil, which ranks 18th in the ranking of nations with the highest rates of TB. The investigation of contacts of people diagnosed with TB is considered essential for the prevention of illness and the early diagnosis of active TB in the population, and should, therefore, be carried out primarily by primary health care, elected as the preferred gateway for people with TB. The study sought to investigate the occurrence of tuberculosis among household contacts. This is a quantitative, descriptive study carried out with household contacts of tuberculosis in the municipality of Caxias-MA. The study sample was composed of 64 household contacts of patients notified as a case of tuberculosis, in the period from January to December 2015. Data collection occurred in the period from April to May 2016. The incidence rate of the disease among the contacts was around 4.7%.