Deportation of tuberculosis patients complicated by a medication shortage--Honduras, May-August 2006.

The Division of Immigration Health Services (DIHS), within the Bureau of Primary Health Care of the Health Resources and Services Administration, provides health-care and public health services to undocumented persons who are detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Detainees in ICE custody are screened for active tuberculosis (TB) disease and, if medically indicated, TB treatment is initiated or continued. Approximately 84% of detainees identified with TB while in ICE custody are deported to their countries of origin before their treatment has been completed. These patients are only allowed to travel after they have been determined to be noninfectious in accordance with CDC guidelines. Patients with active TB who are deported before treatment completion are at high risk for interrupting or not completing treatment (which typically lasts at least 6 months), developing drug-resistant TB, and transmitting TB disease to others; in addition, these patients often illegally reenter the United States after deportation.