IFNγ Response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Risk of Infection and Disease in Household Contacts of Tuberculosis Patients in Colombia

• Published in: PloS one 2009-12, Vol.4 (12), p.e8257
• Main Authors: del Corral, Helena, París, Sara C., Marín, Nancy D., Marín, Diana M., López, Lucelly, Henao, Hanna M., Martínez, Teresita, Villa, Liliana, Barrera, Luis F., Ortiz, Blanca L., Ramírez, María E., Montes, Carlos J., Oquendo, María C., Arango, Lisandra M., Riaño, Felipe, Aguirre, Carlos, Bustamante, Alberto, Belisle, John T., Dobos, Karen, Mejía, Gloria I., Giraldo, Margarita R., Brennan, Patrick J., Robledo, Jaime, Arbeláez, María P., Rojas, Carlos A., García, Luis F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antigens; Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine; BCG; Biomarkers; Children; Cytokines; Disease control; Epidemiology; Health risks; Households; Immunology; Immunology/Immunity to Infections; Incidence; Infections; Infectious Diseases/Epidemiology and Control of Infectious Diseases; Interferon; Isoniazid; Medical diagnosis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Pathology; Patients; Prophylaxis; Proteins; Public Health and Epidemiology/Infectious Diseases; Risk assessment; Skin tests; Social policy; Tuberculin; Tuberculosis; Vaccination; Vaccines; γ-Interferon
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0008257

Objectives Household contacts (HHCs) of pulmonary tuberculosis patients are at high risk of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and early disease development. Identification of individuals at risk of tuberculosis disease is a desirable goal for tuberculosis control. Interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) using specific M. tuberculosis antigens provide an alternative to tuberculin skin testing (TST) for infection detection. Additionally, the levels of IFNγ produced in response to these antigens may have prognostic value. We estimated the prevalence of M. tuberculosis infection by IGRA and TST in HHCs and their source population (SP), and assessed whether IFNγ levels in HHCs correlate with tuberculosis development. Methods A cohort of 2060 HHCs was followed for 2–3 years after exposure to a tuberculosis case. Besides TST, IFNγ responses to mycobacterial antigens: CFP, CFP-10, HspX and Ag85A were assessed in 7-days whole blood cultures and compared to 766 individuals from the SP in Medellín, Colombia. Isoniazid prophylaxis was not offered to child contacts because Colombian tuberculosis regulations consider it only in children under 5 years, TST positive without BCG vaccination. Results Using TST 65.9% of HHCs and 42.7% subjects from the SP were positive (OR 2.60, p