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[Care of infectious diseases in underage refugees exemplified by Ukraine]
B Spielberger1, J Pfeil2, K Assaad3
1Abteilung Pädiatrische Infektiologie und Rheumatologie, Klinik für Allgemeine Pädiatrie und Jugendmedizin, Zentrum für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Freiburg, Mathildenstr. 1, 79106 Freiburg, Deutschland.
Insights
Updated guidelines offer evidence-based care for infectious diseases in child refugees. Recommendations focus on vaccination, diagnosis, and treatment for Ukrainian minors in Germany.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
- Pediatric Medicine
Context:
- Over 300,000 Ukrainian children and adolescents registered in Germany by June 2022.
- Urgent need for targeted medical care strategies for refugee minors.
- Adapting German healthcare guidelines for a specific refugee population.
Purpose:
- Provide evidence-based recommendations for infectious disease diagnosis and prevention in underage refugees.
- Support medical personnel in managing vaccination status and identifying common/rare infectious diseases.
- Ensure timely and appropriate medical interventions for minors from Ukraine.
Summary:
- New S1 guidelines offer a framework for evaluating and managing infectious diseases in young refugees.
- Includes recommendations for medical history, physical exams, blood counts, and screenings for tuberculosis, hepatitis B/C, and HIV.
- Prioritizes vaccinations based on age and indication to rapidly complete immunization status.
Impact:
- Enhances the medical care of vulnerable pediatric refugee populations.
- Aims to improve health outcomes and prevent disease transmission.
- Highlights the need for professionalized healthcare structures and personnel for ongoing refugee influxes.
Background:
By early June 2022, around 300,000 children and adolescents from Ukraine were registered in the German central registry for foreigners.The updated recommendations for action should provide the foundations for an evidence-based and targeted care for the diagnosis and prevention of infectious diseases in underage refugees and asylum seekers, exemplified by Ukraine.
Objective:
The recommendations for action are intended to support medical personnel in the care of minor refugees in order to1) ensure early recognition and completion of an incomplete vaccination status,2) diagnose and treat common infectious diseases,3) ensure early recognition and treatment of infectious diseases that are rare in the German healthcare system.
Material And Methods:
The recommendations for action were drafted as level 1 (S1) guidelines coordinated by the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF) and were adapted to the situation of refugees from Ukraine.The recommendations were compiled by a representative expert panel appointed by the participating professional societies in an informal consensus and finally officially adopted by the board of directors of all societies concerned.
Results:
Recommendations are given for the extent of the medical evaluation of minor refugees, including the medical history and physical examination, adapted to the situation of refugees from Ukraine. A blood count and screening for tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C as well as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections are recommended for all minor refugees.For a rapid completion of the vaccination status, an age-related and indications-related prioritization of individual vaccinations will be undertaken.
Conclusion:
In view of the continuing high numbers of refugees not only from Ukraine, a further professionalization of medical health care is necessary. For this purpose, the necessary structural and personnel framework conditions need to be accomplished.
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