Southeast Asia (SEA) countries are characterised by a high burden of tuberculosis (TB). This research seeks to compile evidence of the prevalence and risk factors associated with TB among children in SEA countries. The searching of articles was conducted for four databases (PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and the Web of Science) published between 2013 and 2023 in the English language. The quality of articles was evaluated using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Tool for Assessment of Risk Bias for Cross-Sectional studies. This research was reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guideline. Eight studies were included in the systematic review. The prevalence of paediatric TB in SEA countries varies between 1.50% and 38.10%. Risk factors associated with the occurrence of TB in children include the nutritional status, the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine status, close contact with TB patients, parental smoking behaviour, unhealthy living conditions, and socioeconomic determinants. The continued high prevalence of TB in several SEA countries, particularly among children, remains a significant public health concern. The various risk factors summarised can serve as a basis for implementing interventions aimed at reducing cases and preventing the transmission of TB among children.
Tuberculosis (TB), as a significant global health challenge, remains leading the increasing burden of its disease. There is an essential requirement to understand and manage the costs of the TB treatment programme to ensure the sustainability of the TB control programme. The aims of this study are to synthesise existing literature on the economic implications of TB treatment programmes, focusing on the cost of the programme associated with drug-susceptible and drug-resistant TB. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and utilising the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, and Study Design (PICOS) framework, studies published from 2013 to 2024 were systematically searched from PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect. Only economic evaluations were included, resulting in 11 articles that provided diverse regional insights into TB costs. The review highlights the considerable financial burden of TB's management, with diverse results from the literature. This study reveals that the combined strategy of the TB programme increases the cost-effectiveness at USD9,050.00 per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) and USD443.62 per TB case. The highest cost of the TB programme was reported for the passive case finding (PCF) at USD226.13 for adults. The funding gap was reported at USD301.62 million from 2018 to 2022. Effective TB management requires some comprehensive financial strategies to mitigate the economic burden that affects the direct and indirect national expenditure. Focusing on combining the strategies of passive and active case finding, increasing the treatment's accessibility, and supporting the drug innovation are believed to be the strategies to enhance the achievement of the TB programme, as well as increasing the cost-effectiveness of its programme.