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Tuberculosis in Undocumented Migrants, Geneva

2005; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Volume: 11; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3201/eid1102.030215

1080-6059

Sigiriya Aebischer Perone, Patrick Bovier, Claude Pichonnaz, Thierry Rochat, Louis Loutan,

Infectious Diseases and Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis in Undocumented Migrants, GenevaTo the Editor: In today's globalized world, a growing number of people are migrating in search of a better life.Simultaneously, industrialized countries are strengthening border controls and administrative barriers to contain this influx of newcomers, resulting in a significant increase in illegal migration and human trafficking.The U.S. Department of State estimates the annual flow of irregular migrants worldwide to be 700,000-2 million (1).Many of the migrants are from countries where tuberculosis is endemic, and they contribute to the increasing proportion of foreign-born persons with tuberculosis in North America and Europe.These persons may be highly contagious in the local population, as they have limited access to healthcare and often go untreated (2,3).Of 450,000 residents in Geneva, Switzerland, 10,000-20,000 are undocumented and come from developing countries or Eastern Europe.All patients treated for tuberculosis in Geneva are systematically registered by the Antituberculosis Center, a facility at Geneva University Hospital.An outpatient clinic provides free consultations for patients with tuberculosis who have no health insurance, and patients are not required to disclose their immigration status to physicians.Patients with sufficient funds pay for their medication.All cases of tuberculosis in undocumented migrants (foreign residents with no resident permits) reported from 1994 to 1998 were reviewed by the same investigator.Their sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were compared with those of 7 South American legal residents with tuberculosis (representing the whole sample of South American tuberculosis patients) during the same period and