Seif Al Abri1, Thereza Kasaeva2, Giovanni Battista Migliori3, Delia Goletti4, Dominik Zenner5, Justin Denholm6, Amal Al Maani7, Daniela Maria Cirillo8, Thomas Schön9, Troels Lillebæk10, Amina Al-Jardani11, Un-Yeong Go12, Hannah Monica Dias13, Simon Tiberi14, Fatma Al Yaquobi15, Faryal Ali Khamis16, Padmamohan Kurup17, Michael Wilson18, Ziad Memish19, Ali Al Maqbali20, Muhammad Akhtar21, Christian Wejse22, Eskild Petersen23. 1. Directorate General for Diseases Surveillance and Control, Ministry of Health, Muscat, Oman. Electronic address: salabri@gmail.com. 2. WHO Global TB Programme, Geneva, Switzerland. 3. Servizio di Epidemiologia Clinica delle Malattie Respiratorie, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Tradate, Italy. 4. Translational Research Unit, National Institute for Infectious Diseases "Lazzaro Spallanzani" - IRCCS, Rome, Italy; ESCMID Study Group on Mycobacteria, Basel, Switzerland. 5. Regional Office of the European Economic Area, EU and NATO and International Organization for Migration, IOM, Brussels, Belgium. 6. Department of Infectious Diseases, Royal Melbourne Hospital and Victorian TB Programme, Melbourne, Australia. 7. Paediatric Infectious Diseases, The Royal Hospital and Central Department of Infection Prevention and Control, Directorate General for Diseases Surveillance and Control, Ministry of Health, Muscat, Oman. 8. Emerging Bacterial Pathogen Research Unit, Italian Reference Centre for Molecular Typing of Mycobacteria, San Rafaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy. 9. Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Kalmar Hospital and University of Linköping, Sweden. 10. International Reference Laboratory of Mycobacteriology, WHO TB Supranational Reference Laboratory Copenhagen, Infectious Disease Preparedness Area, Statens Serum Institute and Global Health Section, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. 11. Central Public Health Laboratory, Directorate General for Disease Surveillance and Control, Ministry of Health, Muscat, Oman. 12. International Tuberculosis Research Centre, Seoul, Republic of Korea. 13. WHO Global TB Programme Unit on Policy, Strategy and Innovations, Geneva, Switzerland. 14. Infectious Diseases, Barts Health NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom; Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom. 15. Tuberculosis and Acute Respiratory Diseases Surveillance, Directorate General for Disease Surveillance and Control, Ministry of Health, Muscat, Oman. 16. Department of Infectious Diseases, The Royal Hospital, Ministry of Health, Muscat, Oman. 17. Department of Disease Surveillance and Control, Muscat Governorate, Muscat, Oman. 18. Zero TB Initiative, Durban, South Africa. 19. Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Hospital, Ministry of Health and College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Rollings School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. 20. Disease Surveillance and Control, North Bathinah Governorate, Sohar, Oman. 21. WHO MENA Region TB Programme, Cairo, Egypt. 22. Department of Infectious Disease, Aarhus University Hospital and School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Aarhus, Denmark; ESCMID Study Group for Travel and Migration, Basel, Switzerland. 23. Directorate General for Disease Surveillance and Control, Ministry of Health, Muscat, Oman; Institute for Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Science, University of Aarhus, Denmark; ESCMID Emerging Infections Task Force, Basel, Switzerland.
Abstract
AIM: The purpose of this viewpoint is to summarize the advantages and constraints of the tools and strategies available for reducing the annual incidence of tuberculosis (TB) by implementing the World Health Organization (WHO) End TB Strategy and the linked WHO TB Elimination Framework, with special reference to Oman. METHODS: The case-study was built based on the presentations and discussions at an international workshop on TB elimination in low incidence countries organized by the Ministry of Health, Oman, which took place from September 5 to September 7, 2019, and supported by the WHO and European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID). RESULTS: Existing tools were reviewed, including the screening of migrants for latent TB infection (LTBI) with interferon-gamma release assays, clinical examination for active pulmonary TB (APTB) including chest X-rays, organization of laboratory services, and the existing centres for mandatory health examination of pre-arrival or arriving migrants, including examination for APTB. The need for public-private partnerships to handle the burden of screening arriving migrants for active TB was discussed at length and different models for financing were reviewed. CONCLUSIONS: In a country with a high proportion of migrants from high endemic countries, screening for LTBI is of high priority. Molecular typing and the development of public-private partnerships are needed.
AIM: The purpose of this viewpoint is to summarize the advantages and constraints of the tools and strategies available for reducing the annual incidence of tuberculosis (TB) by implementing the World Health Organization (WHO) End TB Strategy and the linked WHO TB Elimination Framework, with special reference to Oman. METHODS: The case-study was built based on the presentations and discussions at an international workshop on TB elimination in low incidence countries organized by the Ministry of Health, Oman, which took place from September 5 to September 7, 2019, and supported by the WHO and European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID). RESULTS: Existing tools were reviewed, including the screening of migrants for latent TB infection (LTBI) with interferon-gamma release assays, clinical examination for active pulmonary TB (APTB) including chest X-rays, organization of laboratory services, and the existing centres for mandatory health examination of pre-arrival or arriving migrants, including examination for APTB. The need for public-private partnerships to handle the burden of screening arriving migrants for active TB was discussed at length and different models for financing were reviewed. CONCLUSIONS: In a country with a high proportion of migrants from high endemic countries, screening for LTBI is of high priority. Molecular typing and the development of public-private partnerships are needed.
Authors: Sara Al Mahrouqi; Amal Gadalla; Saleh Al Azri; Salama Al-Hamidhi; Amina Al-Jardani; Abdullah Balkhair; Amira Al-Fahdi; Laila Al Balushi; Samiya Al Zadjali; Asmahan Mohammed Nasser Al Marhoubi; Hamza A Babiker Journal: PeerJ Date: 2022-07-28 Impact factor: 3.061
Authors: Marco P La Manna; Valentina Orlando; Giusto D Badami; Bartolo Tamburini; Mojtaba Shekarkar Azgomi; Elena Lo Presti; Franca Del Nonno; Linda Petrone; Beatrice Belmonte; Laura Falasca; Paola Di Carlo; Francesco Dieli; Delia Goletti; Nadia Caccamo Journal: Eur J Immunol Date: 2022-04-09 Impact factor: 6.688