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Immigrants, major target group for combating tuberculosis
Carmen Munteanu - Communications Coordinator
31 March 2014
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) believes that immigrants could be the key to success in the fight against tuberculosis (TB). The World TB Day was celebrated worldwide on 24 March through the slogan "Reach the 3 million". The 3 million refer to the number of persons affected by TB who are not registered and have no access to treatment. Many of them originate from very poor areas of the world. "In an increasingly mobile world, it is vital that migrants are put at the centre of initiatives to combat the spread of TB and that low and high incidence countries work together to achieve a TB free world", says IOM Director General William Lacy Swing.
Migrants risk to be left without treatment or to develop multidrug resistant TB
According to the press release from IOM, migrants are especially at risk of missing out on detection and treatment because they often suffer from marginalized social status and they lack access to health care. In some countries they even risk deportation if they are found to have TB. Another issue is the timeframe of the treatment, which is typically six months, during which migrant workers often move in search of work. The repeated interruption of the treatment leads to the development of medicine-resistant strains (multidrug-resistant TB, or MDR-TB, a serious form of TB in which the microbe became resistant to at least 2 tuberculostatic substances. Poor knowledge among migrants of health and medical care systems in host countries often leads to delays in seeking medical care or - more seriously - stopping taking medications early, if the treatment was initiated.
Equitable services for migrants
Half of the 22 countries facing serious TB problems will not be able to achieve their commitment to reduce the number of new infections by 2015. "Without targeted TB prevention and control strategies for migrants in the countries of origin, transit and destination it will be impossible to achieve targets", says Dr. Davide Mosca, Director of Migration Health Department in IOM. In his opinion access of certain vulnerable groups to quality diagnostics and treatment should be a priority. Health and human rights in the case of migrants cannot be ignored, because tuberculosis is not simply an infectious disease – it is also a disease of poverty, social vulnerability and marginalization. "Every effort should be made to ensure provision of equitable TB services for migrants that respect their rights, while upholding national and international health legislation", says Director General Swing. The organisation performs multiple activities in this field, conducting pre-departure TB screening for refugees due to be resettled and working closely with global TB control partners including WHO, STOP TB, Global Fund and the International Union Against TB.
The national tuberculosis control programme, underfinanced in Romania
Romania is one of the transit countries for migrants with a high TB incidence. More than 34,000 persons are recorded with sensitive TB and 1500 with multidrug resistant TB. Given the very serious underfinancing of the national TB control programme, the number of patients with multi-drug resistant TB - particularly teenagers and young people - is steadily growing. In Romania people still die of tuberculosis. In the case of TB-MDR patients, mortality rate is 20%, according to the OMS report of April 2012. Each contagious patient may infect other 10 persons in one year, and at least one of them becomes ill. "All these things are a result of the gaps in drug supply, the lack of patients’ proper access to the medicine they need, the lack of rapid tests to detect resistant TB, the lack of the necessary social support for TB patients, the lack of proper information on this illness which leads to many patients or former patients being stigmatised", said Cătălina Constantin, president of the Association for Supporting Patients with Multi-drug Resistant Tuberculosis (ASPTMR) in a press release on the World Tuberculosis Day. TB should be considered a priority in public health in Romania.
Sources: IOM
Comunicate medicale
Migrants risk to be left without treatment or to develop multidrug resistant TB
According to the press release from IOM, migrants are especially at risk of missing out on detection and treatment because they often suffer from marginalized social status and they lack access to health care. In some countries they even risk deportation if they are found to have TB. Another issue is the timeframe of the treatment, which is typically six months, during which migrant workers often move in search of work. The repeated interruption of the treatment leads to the development of medicine-resistant strains (multidrug-resistant TB, or MDR-TB, a serious form of TB in which the microbe became resistant to at least 2 tuberculostatic substances. Poor knowledge among migrants of health and medical care systems in host countries often leads to delays in seeking medical care or - more seriously - stopping taking medications early, if the treatment was initiated.
Equitable services for migrants
Half of the 22 countries facing serious TB problems will not be able to achieve their commitment to reduce the number of new infections by 2015. "Without targeted TB prevention and control strategies for migrants in the countries of origin, transit and destination it will be impossible to achieve targets", says Dr. Davide Mosca, Director of Migration Health Department in IOM. In his opinion access of certain vulnerable groups to quality diagnostics and treatment should be a priority. Health and human rights in the case of migrants cannot be ignored, because tuberculosis is not simply an infectious disease – it is also a disease of poverty, social vulnerability and marginalization. "Every effort should be made to ensure provision of equitable TB services for migrants that respect their rights, while upholding national and international health legislation", says Director General Swing. The organisation performs multiple activities in this field, conducting pre-departure TB screening for refugees due to be resettled and working closely with global TB control partners including WHO, STOP TB, Global Fund and the International Union Against TB.
The national tuberculosis control programme, underfinanced in Romania
Romania is one of the transit countries for migrants with a high TB incidence. More than 34,000 persons are recorded with sensitive TB and 1500 with multidrug resistant TB. Given the very serious underfinancing of the national TB control programme, the number of patients with multi-drug resistant TB - particularly teenagers and young people - is steadily growing. In Romania people still die of tuberculosis. In the case of TB-MDR patients, mortality rate is 20%, according to the OMS report of April 2012. Each contagious patient may infect other 10 persons in one year, and at least one of them becomes ill. "All these things are a result of the gaps in drug supply, the lack of patients’ proper access to the medicine they need, the lack of rapid tests to detect resistant TB, the lack of the necessary social support for TB patients, the lack of proper information on this illness which leads to many patients or former patients being stigmatised", said Cătălina Constantin, president of the Association for Supporting Patients with Multi-drug Resistant Tuberculosis (ASPTMR) in a press release on the World Tuberculosis Day. TB should be considered a priority in public health in Romania.
Sources: IOM
Comunicate medicale
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