TUBERCULOSIS: HEALTH ALERT OVER RECORD TB TOLL

  Efforts to combat TB must be “scaled up” (file photo).

January 2,2011 :  Kirsty Buchanan

THE country’s leading health protection body has called for a national strategy to combat tuberculosis as cases in the UK reach record levels.
The Health Protection Agency has warned that with cases at more than 9,000 a year, the highest level in 30 years, efforts to combat the killer disease must be “scaled up”.
For the first time the HPA has called for a national programme to target those most at risk and new measures to ensure they complete their treatment. It wants targeted intervention to help quick diagnosis among high-risk groups, including the homeless, drug users, prisoners and people born in countries such as India, Pakistan and Somalia.
Because of the difficulties in complying with a six-month regime of antibiotic treatment, strains of TB have now become resistant to commonly used drugs. In London drug-resistant TB has been on the increase for 10 years. In 2009, 172 cases were resistant to isoniazid, the standard antibiotic treatment.
A further 58 cases were resistant to more than one drug and the HPA warns of a new super strain of TB which has already claimed lives in the UK. It is known as “extensively drug resistant tuberculosis” or XDR TB.
The HPA report warns: “The emergence of XDR TB is a serious threat to tuberculosis control.” The HPA is also calling for new research to work out why TB is on the decline among those born outside the UK but has not dropped in a decade among those born in Britain.
Tuberculosis was known as the “white plague” in Victorian Britain because of the pallor of its sufferers. New drug treatments all but eradicated it from our shores but since 1987 cases have soared by 57 per cent.
The UK is now the only country in western Europe where the overall TB rate is still rising.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/220612/Health-alert-over-record-TB-tollHealth-alert-over-record-TB-toll#ixzz1AYoPB5d8

TUBERCULOSIS: A comparative examination of tuberculosis immigration medical screening programs from selected countries with high immigration and low tuberculosis incidence rates

Author: Gonzalo Alvarez et al. Tuberculosis (TB) in migrants is an ongoing challenge in several low TB incidence countries since a large proportion of TB in these countries occurs in migrants from high incidence countries. To meet these challenges, several countries utilize TB screening programs.
The programs attempt to identify and treat those with active and/or infectious stages of the disease. In addition, screening is used to identify and manage those with latent or inactive disease after arrival.
Between nations, considerable variation exists in the methods used in migration-associated TB screening. The present study aimed to compare the TB immigration medical examination requirements in selected countries of high immigration and low TB incidence rates.
Methods:
Descriptive study of immigration TB screening programs

Results:
16 out of 18 eligible countries responded to the written standardized survey and phone interview.
Comparisons in specific areas of TB immigration screening programs included authorities responsible for TB screening, the primary objectives of the TB screening program, the yield of detection of active TB disease, screening details and aspects of follow up for inactive pulmonary TB. No two countries had the same approach to TB screening among migrants.
Important differences, common practices, common problems, evidence or lack of evidence for program specifics were noted.

Conclusions:
In spite of common goals, there is great diversity in the processes and practices designed to mitigate the impact of migration-associated TB among nations that screen migrants for the disease. The long-term goal in decreasing migration-related introduction of TB from high to low incidence countries remains diminishing the prevalence of the disease in those high incidence locations.
In the meantime, existing or planned migration screening programs for TB can be made more efficient and evidenced based. Cooperation among countries doing research in the areas outlined in this study should facilitate the development of improved screening programs.
http://7thspace.com/headlines/368603/a_comparative_examination_of_tuberculosis_immigration_medical_screening_programs_from_selected_countries_with_high_immigration_and_low_tuberculosis_incidence_rates.html