Volume 18, Number 9—September 2012
Research
Evaluation of Immigrant Tuberculosis Screening in Industrialized Countries
Table 1
Screening practices for detecting active TB in immigrants in 29 industrialized OECD countries*
| Screen for active TB | No. countries positive/no. tested (%) |
|---|---|
| Yes | 25/29 (86.2) |
| Compulsory | 19/25 (76.0) |
| Timing of screening† | |
|
Prearrival |
9/25 (36.0) |
|
At arrival |
5/25 (20.0) |
|
Postarrival |
23/25 (92.0) |
| Type of immigrants screened | |
|
All legal‡ |
16/25 (64.0) |
|
Selected legal§ |
4/25 (16.0) |
|
Refugees/asylum seekers¶ |
24/25 (96.0) |
| Selection criteria for immigrants screened | |
|
Age |
2/25 (8.0) |
|
All ages |
23/25 (92.0) |
| TB cases/100,000 population in country of origin | 6/25 (24.0) |
|
>15 |
1/6 (16.7) |
|
>40 |
2/6 (33.3) |
|
>50 |
2/6 (33.3) |
|
>100 |
1/6 (16.7) |
| Region of origin# | 19/25 (76.0) |
|
All |
5/19 (26.3) |
|
All except EU, North America, Australia, and New Zealand |
11/19 (57.9) |
|
Other** |
4/19 (21.1) |
| Screening tools used in children | |
|
Clinical examination |
6/25 (24.0) |
|
Clinical examination and TST |
8/25 (32.0) |
|
Clinical examination and chest radiograph |
0/25 (0.0) |
|
Clinical examination, TST, and chest radiograph |
2/25 (8.0) |
|
TST |
3/25 (12.0) |
|
TST and chest radiograph |
3/25 (12.0) |
|
Chest radiograph |
3/25 (12.0) |
| Screening tools used in adults | |
|
Clinical examination |
1/25 (4.0) |
|
Clinical examination and TST |
1/25 (4.0) |
|
Clinical examination and chest radiograph |
9/25 (36.0) |
|
Clinical examination, TST, and chest radiograph |
2/25 (8.0) |
|
TST |
1/25 (4.0) |
|
TST and chest radiograph |
2/25 (8.0) |
|
Chest radiograph |
9/25 (36.0) |
*OECD, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; TB, tuberculosis; EU, European Union; TST, tuberculin skin test.
†Numbers do not add up to the total because some countries screened at >1 location.
‡Countries in which all legal immigrants (if they meet screening criteria) are screened (see Technical Appendix for more detailed categorization and definitions).
§Countries in which only selected categories of legal immigrants (if they meet screening criteria) are screened (see Technical Appendix for more detailed categorization and definitions).
¶Countries in which refugees/asylum seekers are screened (see Technical Appendix for more detailed categorization and definitions).
#Numbers do not add up to the total because the Czech Republic screened refugees/asylum seekers from all countries but legal immigrants only from selected countries.
**Congo, Czech Republic, Israel, Kenya, Moldova, Mongolia, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Slovenia, South Korea, Tajikistan,Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.