Tuberculosis and other infectious diseases in the adolescent immigrant

Adolescent medicine physicians are frequently the initial contact for adolescents newly arriving in the U.S. and it is important that they recognize the needs of their patients. The adolescent immigrant may be encountered in a school-based health setting, private practice, community health center, or other health care settings. This article begins with a review of the categories of immigrants comprising the adolescent population. It gives an extensive review of tuberculosis among Mexican-American adolescents, detailing history, epidemiology, diagnosis, social factors, and treatment modalities. It further delineates the impact of Mexican tuberculosis control strategies on the practice of medicine in the U.S., and outlines preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic strategies that should be followed in the adolescent immigrant. This article also reviews viral hepatitis in its multiple forms and its impact on the adolescent immigrant. It concludes by delineating prevention practices required for the adolescent immigrant and summarizes the interventions an initial contact physician should undertake upon encountering such adolescents.