Ben Ayed et al. Int J Trop Dis 2018, 1:006 Volume 1 | Issue 1 Open Access International Journal of Tropical Diseases • Page 1 of 6 • Citaton: Ben Ayed H, Koubaa M, Marrakchi C, Rekik K, Hammami F, et al. (2018) Extrapulmonary Tu- berculosis: Update on the Epidemiology, Risk Factors and Preventon Strategies. Int J Trop Dis 1:006. Accepted: September 01, 2018; Published: September 03, 2018 Copyright: © 2018 Ben Ayed H, et al. This is an open-access artcle distributed under the terms of the Creatve Commons Atributon License, which permits unrestricted use, distributon, and reproducton in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Ben Ayed et al. Int J Trop Dis 2018, 1:006 Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis: Update on the Epidemiology, Risk Factors and Preventon Strategies Houda Ben Ayed 1,2* , Makram Koubaa 2,3* , Chakib Marrakchi 2,3 , Khaoula Rekik 2,3 , Fatma Hammami 2,3 , Fatma Smaoui 2,3 , Mariem Ben Hmida 1 , Sourour Yaich 1 , Imed Maaloul 2,3 , Jamel Damak 1 and Mounir Ben Jemaa 2,3 1 Community Health and Epidemiology Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, Tunisia 2 Extrapulmonary Research Unit, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, Tunisia 3 Infectous Diseases Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, Tunisia *Corresponding author: Houda Ben Ayed, MD, Community Health and Epidemiology Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, Tunisia Makram Koubaa, MD, Infectous Diseases Department, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, Tunisia, Tel: +216-21-880-402 Introducton Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major public health threats, competng with the human immunodefciency virus (HIV) as the cause of death due to infectous dis- eases worldwide. TB is the ninth leading cause of death worldwide and the leading cause from a single infec- tous agent, ranking above HIV/AIDS [1]. In 2016, an es- tmated 10.4 million people fell ill with TB among whom 56% were living in fve countries: India, Indonesia, Chi- na, the Philippines and Pakistan [1]. TB is a multsystem disease with myriad presentatons and manifestatons that typically afect the lung, but can also afect any or- gan or tssue, excluding only the hair and nails. Although pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) accounts for the major- ity of cases and is the main transmissible form of the disease, extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) also con- tributes to the burden of disease and does not receive specifc atenton in internatonal control strategies [2]. We aimed, through this review, to give an update on the epidemiology, the risk factors and the main preventon strategies of EPTB. Review of Current Epidemiological Data EPTB represented 15% of the 6.3 million incident cases that were notfed in 2016, ranging from 8% in the WHO Western Pacifc Region to 24% in the WHO East- Abstract Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major public health threats, competing with the human immunodefciency virus (HIV) as the cause of death due to infectious diseases worldwide. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) contributes to the bur- den of disease and does not receive specifc attention in international control strategies. We aimed to give an update on the current epidemiological data of EPTB, to describe its clinical spectrum, to identify the main risk factors and to propose effective preventive strategies to reduce EPTB bur- den. Recent epidemiological data showed that the propor- tion of EPTB are increasing in different countries, account- ing for 15% of the 6.3 million incident cases of TB that were notifed in 2016 worldwide. The commonest EPTB reported sites were lymph node, pleura and urogenital tuberculosis. EPTB site has been associated with the immune status of TB patients. The main reported risk factors of EPTB were HIV infection and low CD4 count, female gender, extremes of age, poverty and several host genes. The main way to stop the transmission of this disease is implementation of effective preventive strategies. They consist of early diagno- sis and treatment of active TB, the prevention of active dis- ease in latently infected individual’s, vaccination and ensure continued surveillance for infected patients as well as active controlling of zoonotic TB. The key to achieving the STOP TB target of global TB eradication by 2050 will be sustained commitment from donors, authorities, effective national TB programs as well as community engagement. Keywords Epidemiology, Extra-pulmonary tuberculosis, Prevention, Risk factor RevIew ARtICle Check for updates