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Dr. Michael Iseman speaks at the
University of Mississippi Medical Center
in Jackson, Miss., during a TB symposium.
Dr. Michael Iseman speaks at the
University of Mississippi Medical Center
in Jackson, Miss., during a TB symposium.
TB on the Rise Among U.S. Immigrants
July 24, 2008 06:02 AM
Despite an overall decline in tuberculosis rates among American citizens, the rate of the diseases has climbed among immigrants.
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According to a study based on 2006 statistics from the Center for Disease Control, tuberculosis rates among U.S. immigrants have increased sharply, despite decreases in the American population.
The study, recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, notes that, “TB rates were highest among residents from lower Africa and parts of Southeast Asia.”
“The overall rate of TB in the U.S. is fewer than 5 per 100,000, according to researchers at the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention,” the Associated Press reports.
According to the AP, “Public health officials worry that drug-resistant TB could become a worldwide scourge because of global travel and immigration.”
Dr. Kevin Cain, the study’s lead author, suggested that, in addition to screening new immigrants (which is already required by U.S. law), less recent foreign-born arrivals should also be tested and treated for latent TB.
TB can lie dormant for years and then suddenly become actively infectious, meaning that the disease often goes undetected. Foreign-born US citizens are rarely tested for TB after entry into the U.S. With more than 37 million foreign-born people currently in the United States, universally administering skin tests, “would be daunting to say the least,” Cain said.
The study, recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, notes that, “TB rates were highest among residents from lower Africa and parts of Southeast Asia.”
“The overall rate of TB in the U.S. is fewer than 5 per 100,000, according to researchers at the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention,” the Associated Press reports.
According to the AP, “Public health officials worry that drug-resistant TB could become a worldwide scourge because of global travel and immigration.”
Dr. Kevin Cain, the study’s lead author, suggested that, in addition to screening new immigrants (which is already required by U.S. law), less recent foreign-born arrivals should also be tested and treated for latent TB.
TB can lie dormant for years and then suddenly become actively infectious, meaning that the disease often goes undetected. Foreign-born US citizens are rarely tested for TB after entry into the U.S. With more than 37 million foreign-born people currently in the United States, universally administering skin tests, “would be daunting to say the least,” Cain said.
Headline Link: TB cases on the rise among U.S. immigrants
A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that tuberculosis rates have dropped overall in the United States, but remain high among immigrants. “While most TB cases come from recent arrivals, a significant number involve people who have lived in the United States for at least 20 years,” say researchers involved in the study.
Source: NPR [Associated Press]
Background: TB up among foreign-born in U.S. and other Western countries
According to the American Lung Association, “In 2007, preliminary data shows the total number of new cases of tuberculosis in the United States (13,293) decreased for the fifteenth consecutive year, resulting in the lowest rate for reported TB cases (4.4 per 100,000) since national surveillance began in 1953.” The Association also reported that “For the fifth consecutive year, over half of new TB cases (57%) were in foreign-born persons … More than half (56%) of the foreign-born cases in 2006 were reported in persons from Mexico, the Philippines, Vietnam, India and China.”
Source: American Lung Association
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that high incidences of TB are often found in foreign populations living in Western countries. According to WHO, “In 2001, 61.4% of all TB cases in the Netherlands occurred among foreign citizens.” A template provided by the organization allows you to research the number of TB cases identified in your country as well as the total number of cases among immigrants or foreign-born individuals.
Source: The World Health Organization
Opinion & Analysis: Foreign-born U.S. residents need access to tests, treatment
A recent report released by The Chicago Department of Public Health shows a downturn in TB among Chicagoans generally; however, an increasing proportion of the remaining cases involve foreign-born Chicago residents. Dr. Ronald Hershow, associate professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, believes that foreign-born individuals often do not get proper treatment: “The unfortunate truth about TB therapy is it’s unlike other infectious diseases that you treat over three weeks, it’s a disease you treat over three months. And so-called sustained treatments for a period of 6 months require resources [and] careful follow up, and that is beyond the economic wherewithal of many countries.”
Source: The Windy Citizen
According to David Cohn, professor of infectious diseases at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, “There is additional risk for patients who are foreign-born even after they have been living in the United States for more than five years … for those doctors and communities who have resources, the evidence suggests it would be reasonable to extend testing to people who have lived here longer than five years.”
Source: Terra Daily
Reference: JAMA study and tuberculosis statistics
Study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association
An abstract of the recently published study, “Tuberculosis Among Foreign-Born Persons in the United States,” is available on the Journal of the American Medical Association Web site.
Source: The Journal of the American Medical Association
CDC Tuberculosis statistics from 2006
The Division of Tuberculosis Elimination at the Center for Disease Control details the number of TB cases in the U.S. in 2006. The CDC statistics formed the basis of the aforementioned study.
Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention
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