Volume 28, Number 9—September 2022
Research
Detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection in Children Migrating to Australia
, Stephen M. Graham, Bridget Williams, Danielle Horyniak, Suman S. Majumdar, Georgia A. Paxton, Lila V. Soares Caplice, Margaret E. Hellard, and James M. Trauer
Table 2
IGRA and TST testing and positivity in visa applicants <15 years of age migrating to Australia, November 2015–June 2017*
| Characteristic |
All applicants |
Applicants tested by IGRA or TST |
Applicants tested, excluding missing/indeterminate results† |
IGRA or TST positivity in applicants tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total |
134,759 (100) |
45,060 (33.4) |
44,841 |
1,513 (3.4) |
| Sex | ||||
| F | 65,462 (48.6) | 22,133 (33.8) | 22,028 | 763 (3.5) |
| M |
69,284 (51.4) |
22,925 (33.1) |
22,811 |
750 (3.3) |
| Age group, y | ||||
| <4 | 62,646 (46.5) | 18,503 (29.5) | 18,410 | 505 (2.7) |
| 5–9 | 40,357 (30.0) | 22,615 (56.0) | 22,509 | 796 (3.5) |
| 10–14 |
31,756 (23.6) |
3,942 (12.4) |
3,922 |
212 (5.4) |
| Visa stream | ||||
| Permanent | 72,610 (53.9) | 30,474 (42.0) | 30,349 | 1,144 (3.8) |
| Temporary | 45,490 (33.8) | 4,466 (9.8) | 4,430 | 160 (3.6) |
| Humanitarian |
16,659 (12.36) |
10,120 (60.8) |
10,062 |
209 (2.1) |
| Region of origin | ||||
| Oceania‡ | 10,704 (7.9) | 2,512 (23.5) | 2,490 | 32 (1.3) |
| Northwest Europe | 7,339 (5.5) | 255 (3.5) | 255 | 7 (2.8) |
| Southern and Eastern Europe | 2,153 (1.6) | 419 (19.5) | 417 | 36 (8.6) |
| North Africa and Middle East | 14,316 (10.6) | 6,981 (48.8) | 6,950 | 128 (1.8) |
| Southeast Asia | 21,993 (16.3) | 7,597 (34.5) | 7,562 | 574 (7.6) |
| Northeast Asia | 19,667 (14.6) | 5,788 (29.4) | 5,755 | 134 (2.3) |
| Southern and Central Asia | 37,741 (28.0) | 15,046 (39.9) | 15,009 | 435 (2.9) |
| Americas | 4,363 (3.2) | 503 (11.5) | 498 | 11 (2.2) |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 8,556 (6.4) | 3,557 (41.6) | 3,522 | 97 (2.8) |
| Missing/Inadequately described |
7,927 (5.9) |
2,402 (30.0) |
2,383 |
59 (2.5) |
| Top 5 countries of origin, excluding Australia | ||||
| India | 25,208 | 9,860 (39.1) | 9,831 | 317 (3.2) |
| China | 14,013 | 4,703 (33.6) | 4,680 | 114 (2.4) |
| Philippines | 8,684 | 3,234 (37.2) | 3,222 | 436 (13.5) |
| United Kingdom | 5,562 | 170 (3.1) | 170 | 5 (2.9) |
| Pakistan |
5,175 |
2,472 (47.8) |
2,471 |
24 (1.0) |
| Reported risk factors | ||||
| Reported contact with TB | 748 | 310 (41.4) | 306 | 46 (15) |
| Previous treatment for TB |
402 |
121 (30.1) |
121 |
31 (25.6) |
| Test type | No. (%) tests completed§ |
No. tests, excluding indeterminate |
No. (%) positive tests |
|
| All | 45,345 | 45,171 | 1,563 (3.5) | |
| IGRA | 26,171 (57.7) | 25,997 | 532 (2.0) | |
| TST | 19,174 (42.3) | 19,174 | 1,031 (5.4) | |
*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. Missing results across all applicants (excluded from corresponding demographic denominators): age not recorded for 7 applicants, none of whom were screened (excluded from entire analysis); gender not recorded for 13 applicants, reported TB contact not recorded for 7,645 applicants, previous treatment for TB not recorded for 13,484 applicants. Humanitarian visa holders, while considered as a separate visa application stream by the Department of Home Affairs, have permanent residency in Australia. IGRA, interferon-gamma release assay; TST, tuberculin skin test; TB, tuberculosis disease. †Applicants who had IGRA or TST but with an indeterminate (IGRA, n = 174) or missing result (n = 45) excluded from column. ‡Oceania region includes 8,358 applicants with country of origin as Australia (8,018 born in Australia). This reflects children born in Australia of families applying for migration. No further information regarding parental country of origin available. §Total of 45,345 IGRAs and TSTs conducted with 330 applicants with >1 test in an application (227 with 2 tests and 3 with 3 tests).