Tuberculosis remains one of the most prevalent, deadly, and underdiagnosed infectious diseases in the world. In children, this burden is doubly problematic because of the disease's unique clinical characteristics and its need for special public health and diagnostic techniques. After decades of relative inattention to these factors, childhood tuberculosis has now grown into an important area of competency for child health programs in low-burden areas, including the United States. The Handbook of Child and Adolescent Tuberculosis is a state of the art clinical reference written and edited by the world's leading experts in childhood tuberculosis. It offers clinicians in any geography or setting practical, evidence-based advice on all aspects of the disease, including its natural history, epidemiology, presentation, treatment, and prevention -- all in a format that synthesizes literature with the clinical experience of the leading authorities in this challenging field. As the need for childhood tuberculosis services in child health programs grows, this handbook provides a new benchmark for practitioners and trainees in pediatrics, infectious disease, pulmonary medicine, and public health to better understand this persisting and difficult disease.
