Tuberculosis Infection in HIV-Positive Children Attending TB/HIV Clinic at Central Hospital Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria

Tuberculosis infection in children has been a major setback to achieving the fourth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing child mortality rate by two-thirds by the year 2015. Children are the hope and future of any nation. Therefore, a cross-sectional study was conducted between January and April 2014 to survey tuberculosis infection in HIV positive children below five years of age attending TB/HIV Clinic at Central Hospital Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria. A total of eighty-three children reregistered at TB/HIV clinic of the Hospital were randomly selected and screened for tuberculosis disease using structure and validated questionnaire containing both socio-demographic profile and disease symptoms. Of the eighty-three children investigated, forty-five had TB; a prevalence rate of 54.2%. The analysis also revealed that majority of the children with TB/HIV infection were children whose mothers were HIV positive. Majority of the care-givers were mothers; (75.9%) who were classified into class VI of the social economic class. Majority of the HIV positive children had CD4 count of 200-499 cells/ mu l.