D Chemtob1, A Leventhal, D Weiler-Ravell. 1. Department of Tuberculosis and AIDS, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel. daniel.chemtob@moh.health.gov.il
Abstract
SETTING: Right of entry may sometimes be denied to immigrants because of the threat of tuberculosis. During 1990-2000 some 1050000 immigrants, mostly from countries highly endemic for TB, arrived in Israel, a low prevalence country. Nevertheless, TB rates in Israel have remained low. OBJECTIVE: To emphasise the challenge beyond technical competence for TB control for immigrants from the perspective of Israel's National Tuberculosis Programme (NTP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We defined criteria for an NTP geared to immigration, and analysed our implementation of the European Task Force recommendations on international migration and TB control. We interviewed immigrants and health care workers to identify barriers to diagnosis, prevention and treatment of TB among immigrants. We used classical epidemiology to evaluate the impact of immigration on TB rates in the host population. RESULTS: Until now there has been no evidence of significant spread of TB from immigrants to the host population. Successful outcome of treatment has been noted in over 75%, although a sub-population of immigrant substance abusers is proving more difficult to treat. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of TB for the host country is very low and it seems possible to enhance TB control in immigrants with measures designed to address their cultural needs.
SETTING: Right of entry may sometimes be denied to immigrants because of the threat of tuberculosis. During 1990-2000 some 1050000 immigrants, mostly from countries highly endemic for TB, arrived in Israel, a low prevalence country. Nevertheless, TB rates in Israel have remained low. OBJECTIVE: To emphasise the challenge beyond technical competence for TB control for immigrants from the perspective of Israel's National Tuberculosis Programme (NTP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We defined criteria for an NTP geared to immigration, and analysed our implementation of the European Task Force recommendations on international migration and TB control. We interviewed immigrants and health care workers to identify barriers to diagnosis, prevention and treatment of TB among immigrants. We used classical epidemiology to evaluate the impact of immigration on TB rates in the host population. RESULTS: Until now there has been no evidence of significant spread of TB from immigrants to the host population. Successful outcome of treatment has been noted in over 75%, although a sub-population of immigrant substance abusers is proving more difficult to treat. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of TB for the host country is very low and it seems possible to enhance TB control in immigrants with measures designed to address their cultural needs.
Authors: Knut Lönnroth; Giovanni Battista Migliori; Ibrahim Abubakar; Lia D'Ambrosio; Gerard de Vries; Roland Diel; Paul Douglas; Dennis Falzon; Marc-Andre Gaudreau; Delia Goletti; Edilberto R González Ochoa; Philip LoBue; Alberto Matteelli; Howard Njoo; Ivan Solovic; Alistair Story; Tamara Tayeb; Marieke J van der Werf; Diana Weil; Jean-Pierre Zellweger; Mohamed Abdel Aziz; Mohamed R M Al Lawati; Stefano Aliberti; Wouter Arrazola de Oñate; Draurio Barreira; Vineet Bhatia; Francesco Blasi; Amy Bloom; Judith Bruchfeld; Francesco Castelli; Rosella Centis; Daniel Chemtob; Daniela M Cirillo; Alberto Colorado; Andrei Dadu; Ulf R Dahle; Laura De Paoli; Hannah M Dias; Raquel Duarte; Lanfranco Fattorini; Mina Gaga; Haileyesus Getahun; Philippe Glaziou; Lasha Goguadze; Mirtha Del Granado; Walter Haas; Asko Järvinen; Geun-Yong Kwon; Davide Mosca; Payam Nahid; Nobuyuki Nishikiori; Isabel Noguer; Joan O'Donnell; Analita Pace-Asciak; Maria G Pompa; Gilda G Popescu; Carlos Robalo Cordeiro; Karin Rønning; Morten Ruhwald; Jean-Paul Sculier; Aleksandar Simunović; Alison Smith-Palmer; Giovanni Sotgiu; Giorgia Sulis; Carlos A Torres-Duque; Kazunori Umeki; Mukund Uplekar; Catharina van Weezenbeek; Tuula Vasankari; Robert J Vitillo; Constantia Voniatis; Maryse Wanlin; Mario C Raviglione Journal: Eur Respir J Date: 2015-04 Impact factor: 16.671