Tuberculosis outbreak at Chicago migrant shelters sparks urgent contact tracing as officials say a FIFTH of Latin American arrivals carry the disease
The Chicago Department of Public Health said 'a small number of cases' were reported 'in a few different shelters' around the city.
Health officials confirmed a fifth of Latin American arrivals carry TB, but it usually latent, not contagious, and asymptomatic.
The TB cases come after 55 measles cases were detected in the city, the majority originating from the Pilsen migrant shelter
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13272759/tuberculosis-outbreak-chicago-migrant-shelters-urgent-contact-tracing.html
The impact of migration on tuberculosis in the United States
Due to greater exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection before migration, migrants moving to low-incidence settings can experience substantially higher tuberculosis (TB) rates than the native-born population. This review describes the impact of migration on TB epidemiology in the United States, and how the TB burden differs between US-born and non-US-born populations. The United States has a long history of receiving migrants from other parts of the world, and TB among non-US-born individuals now represents the majority of new TB cases. Based on an analysis of TB cases among individuals from the top 30 countries of origin in terms of non-US-born TB burden between 2003 and 2015, we describe how TB risks vary within the non-US-born population according to age, years since entry, entry year, and country of origin. Variation along each of these dimensions is associated with more than 10-fold differences in the risk of developing active TB, and this risk is also positively associated with TB incidence estimates for the country of origin and the composition of the migrant pool in the entry year. Approximately 87 000 lifetime TB cases are predicted for the non-US-born population resident in the United States in 2015, and 5800 lifetime cases for the population entering the United States in 2015.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6353558/
HUMAN MOBILITY & TUBERCULOSIS
(The IMO is the International Organizaiton for Migrantion, "Making Migration Work for All", UN Migration)
TB disproportionately affects poor and marginalized populations
The sub-standard conditions in which some migrants may be forced to travel, live and work, can increase their vulnerability or exposure to TB. Migrants, regardless of their legal status, may face food insecurity and malnutrition, or end up facing systemic barriers to accessing health care. Other vulnerable populations may be detained in over-crowded facilities or live in camps as refugees or internally displaced persons, with no or inadequate access to TB medicine, which can lead to the development of drug-resistant forms of TB.
All of the above are major risk factors for TB, and therefore, the realization of true Universal Health Coverage, one that leaves no migrant behind, is critical in ensuring that TB is eradicated for everyone one day.
Stigma and discrimination remain major obstacles in tackling TB worldwide
Because important public health messaging often fails to reach the most vulnerable people in a society, TB health literacy is relatively low among migrants and refugees: migrants with pulmonary and extra-pulmonary TB may be unaware of the signs and symptoms, which makes them less likely to seek treatment, or know how to protect their loved ones from catching it. Those who are informed and have identified their symptoms — persistent cough, night sweats and weight loss — may be reluctant to provide this medical history to health workers, for fear of stigmatization or losing the opportunity to be resettled.
In order to adequately tackle this global challenge, it is critical that migrants and refugees be informed in their own languages of the risks of TB, and that they feel safe enough to seek help, without fear of stigmatization, arrest or deportation.
https://www.iom.int/human-mobility-tuberculosis