TB in migrants residing in the Netherlands for at least 5 years at diagnosis, 2003-2018

BACKGROUND: One of the challenges of TB elimination in low-incidence countries is the relatively high incidence of TB in migrants in these countries, even after multiple years of residence.OBJECTIVE: To describe and compare TB incidence and characteristics of migrant TB patients residing in the Netherlands for at least (≥)5 years at diagnosis with non-foreign-born TB patients in order to identify additional strategies that could reduce TB incidence in the former group.METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in migrants from Somalia, Morocco, Suriname, Turkey and Indonesia who were diagnosed with TB in the Netherlands in 2003-2018. TB incidences were calculated and multivariate logistic regression was used to identify differences in characteristics of TB patients per country of birth compared to non-foreign-born patients.RESULTS: TB incidence was highest in individuals from Somalia (162.5/100,000 population in 2018), followed by individuals from Morocco (37.1/100,000). In the non-foreign-born population, TB incidence was 1.2/100,000. Differences in characteristics of TB patients compared to non-foreign-born patients varied by country of birth.CONCLUSION: Our findings underline the importance of being aware of the heterogeneity of TB incidence and characteristics of patients in the migrant population residing ≥5 years in the Netherlands.