Does cytomegalovirus infection increase the risk of tuberculosis in UK children?

We aimed to explore if CMV seroprevalence and CMV IgG levels in children were associated with TB disease or Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection compared to children who were exposed to TB but remained well. In this cross-sectional analysis from an observational cohort study of children exposed to TB in their household in the United Kingdom, we examined samples from seventy-five participants, of whom 40 (53%) were male.

Median age of the cohort was 6 years (interquartile range: 3-11 years). Twenty-one (28%) children had TB disease, 27 (36%) had Mtb infection, and 27 (36%) had TB exposure only. There was no increased risk of TB in children who were CMV-seropositive (OR 2.18 (0.75-6.48)), and there were no differences in CMV IgG quantification by TB category.