In low-incidence countries, tuberculosis mainly affects migrants, mostly resulting from reactivation of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) acquired in high-incidence countries before migration. A ...nationwide primary care-based LTBI testing and treatment programme for migrants from high-incidence countries was therefore established in high tuberculosis incidence areas in England. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of this programme.
We did a retrospective, population-based cohort study of migrants who registered in primary care between Jan 1, 2011, and Dec 31, 2018, in 55 high-burden areas with programmatic LTBI testing and treatment. Eligible individuals were aged 16–35 years, born in a high-incidence country, and had entered England in the past 5 years. Individuals who tested interferon-γ release assay (IGRA)-negative were advised about symptoms of tuberculosis, whereas those who tested IGRA-positive were clinically assessed to rule out active tuberculosis and offered preventive therapy. The primary outcome was incident tuberculosis notified to the national Enhanced Tuberculosis Surveillance system.
Our cohort comprised 368 097 eligible individuals who had registered in primary care, of whom 37 268 (10·1%) were tested by the programme. 1446 incident cases of tuberculosis were identified: 166 cases in individuals who had IGRA testing (incidence 204 cases 95% CI 176–238 per 100 000 person-years) and 1280 in individuals without IGRA testing (82 cases 77–86 per 100 000 person-years). Overall, in our primary analysis including all diagnosed tuberculosis cases, a time-varying association was identified between LTBI testing and treatment and lower risk of incident tuberculosis (hazard ratio HR 0·76 95% CI 0·63–0·91) when compared with no testing. In stratified analysis by follow-up period, the intervention was associated with higher risk of tuberculosis diagnosis during the first 6 months of follow-up (9·93 7·63–12·9) and a lower risk after 6 months (0·57 0·41–0·79). IGRA-positive individuals had higher risk of tuberculosis diagnosis than IGRA-negative individuals (31·9 20·4–49·8). Of 37 268 migrants who were tested, 6640 (17·8%) were IGRA-positive, of whom 1740 (26·2%) started preventive treatment. LTBI treatment lowered the risk of tuberculosis: of 135 incident cases in the IGRA-positive cohort, seven cases were diagnosed in the treated group (1·87 cases 95% CI 0·89–3·93 per 1000 person-years) and 128 cases were diagnosed in the untreated group (10·9 cases 9·16–12·9 per 1000 person-years; HR 0·14 95% CI 0·06–0·32).
A low proportion of eligible migrants were tested by the programme and a small proportion of those testing positive started treatment. Despite this, programmatic LTBI testing and treatment of individuals migrating to a low-incidence region is effective at diagnosing active tuberculosis earlier and lowers the long-term risk of progression to tuberculosis. Increasing programme participation and treatment rates for those testing positive could substantially impact national tuberculosis incidence.
National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Respiratory Infections.
Tuberculosis (TB) is the second leading cause of death worldwide due to a single infectious agent. Rates of active TB in places of prescribed detention (PPD), which include Prisons, Young Offender ...Institutions and Immigration Removal Centres, are high compared with the general population. PPD therefore present an opportunity to develop targeted health programmes for TB control. This audit aims to assess current service provisions and identify barriers to achieving best practice standards in PPD across London.
Twelve healthcare teams within PPD commissioned by NHS England (London Region) were included in the audit. Services were evaluated against the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence standards for TB best practice.
None of the health providers with a digital X-ray machine were conducting active case finding in new prisoners and no health providers routinely conduct Latent TB infection testing and preventative treatment. Barriers to implementing standards include the lack of staff skills and staff skills mix, structural and technical barriers, and demands of custodial and health services.
This audit restates the importance of national public health TB strategies to consider healthcare provisions across PPD.
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