Screening immigrants for tuberculosis in Newcastle upon Tyne

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Infectious Disease Control
• Immigration Health

Background:

• UK national guidelines recommend screening immigrants from high tuberculosis (TB) prevalence countries.
• Previous studies on immigrant TB screening at a district level are limited.
• This study evaluated TB screening effectiveness for immigrants in Newcastle.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the contribution of immigrant screening to tuberculosis control in Newcastle.
• To evaluate the adequacy of the Port of Arrival (POA) system for identifying immigrants for TB screening.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Port of Arrival (POA) forms and Family Health Services Authority (FHSA) registers to identify new immigrants in 1993.
• Reviewed hospital and practice records for screening evidence and outcomes up to the end of 1994.
• Focused on immigrants from the Indian sub-continent identified through POA and FHSA.

Main Results:

• 252 POA forms were processed; 100 were for immigrants from the Indian sub-continent.
• Less than one-third of all new immigrants from the Indian sub-continent were identified.
• 39% of immigrants identified via POA forms were screened, detecting one active TB case.

Conclusions:

• The POA system alone is insufficient for effective immigrant TB screening.
• Current evidence suggests immigrant TB screening systems have a low yield of new cases.
• A national audit is recommended to determine the effectiveness of screening immigrants for tuberculosis.