Infectious Diseases among Migrants in Countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion in the Period before the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Migration issues, including the impact of migrant flows on the state of public health in the host country and infectious diseases imported by migrants are currently causing much debate. The aim of this study is to analyze data on the prevalence of infectious diseases among migrants and measures to reduce infectious morbidity taken in the countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion, also referred by the World Health Organization (WHO) to the South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions. The research materials included reports, statistical materials, program documents by the World Health Organization, the International Organization for Migration, and other publications. To analyze the situation with infectious diseases among migrants, we selected materials containing information and statistics on infectious diseases in the countries of the Greater Mekong subregion (China, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, also included in the group countries of the Greater Mekong subregion), since it is in these countries that migration flows are very intense and the problem of transmission of infectious diseases from migrants to the population of the host countries is very urgent. Despite the lack of available statistical information on the level of infectious morbidity among migrants in the countries of the WHO regions of South-East Asia and the Western Pacific, as well as different migration and social policies in these countries, the results obtained allow us to conclude that the special programs and measures to reduce morbidity among migrants are yielding positive results. Screening and testing for infectious diseases in migrants, as well as an appropriate social policy in terms of providing universal health insurance for refugees and migrants, would make it possible to timely diagnose infectious diseases in migrants and thus contribute to a decrease in their incidence and, accordingly, the incidence of persistent diseases. the population of the host countries.