HIV-infected individuals including children of any age
A course of preventive treatment with daily isoniazid (5–10 mg/kg up to
300mg) for at least six and up to nine months is effective in preventing
progression of LTBI to active disease. (Ref 1)
Since the HIV status of household contacts may not be known, HIV testing should be offered up front to all household contacts.
Other treatment regimens have recently been developed for use in low burden
settings.(Ref 2) These regimens have not been tested in high burden settings.
There is ongoing research on this topic and as new guidelines are developed
it will be useful for physicians to check for updates.
Young children are at special risk, especially if they are HIV-infected which increases the risk of progression to active TB by up to 50 times in a given year.