European policies in the management of tuberculosis among migrants

Abstract

Globally 10.4 million new tuberculosis (TB) incident cases were estimated to have occurred in 2015, of which 3% were reported in the World Health Organization European Region. Importantly, about 25% of the global multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) cases are reported in the European Region, representing one of the greatest challenges to TB control; these are reported particularly in the countries of the Former Soviet Union. Over a quarter of TB cases in the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) are reported among foreign-born individuals. In line with the recent increase of migration flows towards Europe, TB among migrant populations is also on the rise, emphasizing the need for a better understanding of the TB trends at the regional and sub-regional levels, and of the existing policies on migrants and refugees. The present article is aimed at describing the policies and practices of European countries with a low and intermediate TB incidence with regard to the detection and management of TB and latent TB infection (LTBI) among refugees in Europe.