Disseminated Tuberculosis in an Infant: A Case Report

Abstract

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Even though tuberculosis among pregnant woman is not uncommon, documented cases of congenital tuberculosis are rare. It is because placenta forms a protective barrier against the invasion of foetus by the organism. Although rare, congenital tuberculosis should be distinguished from more frequent acquired neonatal tuberculosis. Diagnosis of neonatal tuberculosis is difficult as sputum is generally not available for examination. Gastric aspirate is used as an alternative to sputum. The present work focuses on a case study of a four month old infant with infection.

Keywords: neonatal tuberculosis, infant, Ziehl Neelsen staining, Tuberculin skin test