Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission in an ethnically-diverse high incidence region in England, 2007-11.

Background: Transmission patterns in high tuberculosis incidence areas in England are poorly understood but need elucidating to focus contact tracing. We study transmission within and between age, ethnic and immigrant groups using molecular data from the high incidence West Midlands region.

Methods: Isolates from culture-confirmed tuberculosis cases during 2007-2011 were typed using 24-locus Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive Unit-Variable Number Tandem Repeats (MIRU-VNTR).

Tuberculosis microepidemics among dispersed migrants, Birmingham, UK, 2004-2013.

To determine if local transmission was responsible for rising tuberculosis incidence in a recently dispersed migrant community in Birmingham, UK, during 2004-2013, we conducted enhanced epidemiologic investigation of molecular clusters. This technique identified exact locations of social mixing and chains of apparent recent transmission, which can be helpful for directing resources.