Migration and tuberculosis in the UK: Targeting screening for latent infection to those at greatest risk of disease

Michelle E. Kruijshaar*, Ibrahim Abubakar, Helen R. Stagg, Debora Pedrazzoli, Marc Lipman

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Active tuberculosis (TB) in the UK predominantly affects the non-UK born, but is generally not manifest at the time of UK entry. Strategies to detect latent TB infection (LTBI) in this population are, therefore, important. To date, targeted screening has focused on TB risk estimates based on the incidence in the country of origin. Using TB incidence in the UK and migration data, we estimated the numbers needed to be tested and treated for LTBI to prevent one case of TB disease. Numbers were the lowest in Somalian and the highest in South African and Filipino migrants, which contrasts with TB rates in these countries. Targeting screening on the basis of incidence in the UK may thus improve effectiveness.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1172-1174
Number of pages3
JournalThorax
Volume68
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2013

Bibliographical note

Copyright:
Copyright 2014 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

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