Tuberculosis among Migrant Populations in Sicily: A Field Report.

Tullio Prestileo,Salvatore Corrao,Giuseppe Pipitone,Giuseppe Natoli,Team I Ta C A (Immigrant Take Care Advocacy) Team ,Antonio Ficalora,Adriana Sanfilippo

doi:10.1155/2021/7856347

Abstract

Background In the EU, tuberculosis (TB) mainly affects vulnerable people, including migrants. From 2014 to 2017, we have estimated the frequency of both tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among the migrant population hosted in 41 reception centers in western Sicily (ITaCA network). Materials and Methods All migrants were consecutively recruited for the screening of TB infection with physical examination and TST in 1,020 migrants and with IGRA in the others 2,690. The screening was carried out 4–8 weeks after landing in Sicily. For all migrants with a positive screening test, chest X-ray and smear examination were performed. LTBI was defined by positivity of TST or IGRA with negative X-ray chest, clinical, and smear examination. Active TB was defined by radiological and/or clinical and/or sputum positivity in a patient with a TST or IGRA positivity. Results We evaluated a total of 3,710 migrants, of which 89% came from Sub-Saharan countries; 2,811 were males, 899 were females, with a median age of 22 years (IQR: 18–25). TB infection was diagnosed in 501 persons (13.5%) of which 440 (11.8%) had LTBI and 61 had active TB (1.6%): 1 had lymph node TB, 1 had intestinal TB, and 59 had pulmonary TB (38 sputum smear positive TB; no drug-resistant TB were observed). Conclusions TB screening is critical to early diagnosis and treatment.

Highlights

In the European Union (EU), tuberculosis (TB) mainly affects vulnerable people, including migrants
Among the 48,043 migrants landed in western Sicily between 2014 and 2017, we evaluate 3,710 migrants hosted in 41 Sicilian reception centers who cooperatedto the Immigrant Take Care Advocacy (ITaCA) network team with the Infectious Diseases Unit and Center for Migration and Health of the ARNAS-Civico Hospital of Palermo
89% came from seven Sub-Saharan countries: 20% Gambia, 19% Nigeria, 12% Senegal, 11% Ivory Coast, 10% Ghana, 9% Guinea, and 8% Mali (Figure 2). e remaining 11% come from Burkina Faso, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Tunisia, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Togo, and Liberia

Summary

Background

By the end of 2017, more than 68 million people are estimated to be forcibly displaced[1, 2]. The migrants landed with the SAR project can be more identified and provided access to medical care, but in the first 4 weeks, they were relocated in many centers through a process of personal data registration and redistribution the last month (almost 1 or 2 years). During this period, many migrants escape from the center. We followed the WHO recommendation that suggest systematic testing for and treatment of LTBI for immigrants from countries with high TB burden [9]. e population we observed was almost entirely composed of migrants from countries with high TB endemic, except for Mali and other countries

Population Sample and Research Methods

Results

Discussion