Objective: This study aimed to address the prevalence of infectious diseases in a population of unaccompanied immigrant minors living in reception centres of Rome, Italy.

Methods: The study was carried out from January 2013 to January 2019. All unaccompanied immigrant minors were screened for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis and latent tuberculosis infection.

Results: A total of 879 unaccompanied immigrant minors, 858 males and 21 females, aged 13-18 years old were studied. Of these, 615 were from Africa, 179 from Asia and 84 from Eastern Europe. A low prevalence of HBsAg carriage (2.5%) was observed as was very low prevalence of hepatitis C (0.72%) and latent syphilis (0.4%); latent tuberculosis, defined as tuberculin skin test (TST)+ X-ray case, was diagnosed in 102 (12%) minors.

Conclusions: Similar to previous studies, these data demonstrate that migrant minors are generally healthy. However, given the relatively high prevalence of hepatitis B and latent tuberculosis, systematic screening for these diseases among immigrant minors immigrants is highly recommended for early detection and treatment of potentially transmissible diseases.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2020.09.020DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

latent tuberculosis
16
immigrant minors
16
unaccompanied immigrant
12
hepatitis hepatitis
8
hepatitis syphilis
8
minors living
8
living reception
8
low prevalence
8
prevalence hepatitis
8
hepatitis
6

Similar Publications

Background: Identifying patients with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is challenging. This is particularly true amongst immunocompromised hosts, in whom the diagnostic accuracy of available tests is limited. The authors evaluated the impact of routine pretransplant review by a transplant infectious diseases (TID) physician on LTBI screening in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (alloHSCT) recipients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Patients with cancer are at elevated risk for tuberculosis (TB) reactivation. Diagnosis of latent TB infection and TB disease remains challenging in this patient population despite the advent of interferon-γ release assays (IGRA).

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of all patients with cancer who had IGRA testing (QuantiFERON-TB [QFT-TB] or T-SPOT.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in ulcerative colitis (UC) development. This study explores the impact of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) on the gut microbiota in UC and assesses changes during vedolizumab treatment, investigating prophylactic anti-tuberculosis therapy.

Results: This cohort study included adult patients with UC receiving vedolizumab treatment at Jinhua Hospital, Zhejiang University from April 2021 to December 2022.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Tuberculosis remains a significant public health issue, particularly among children who are in close contact with tuberculosis patients. India accounts for a large proportion of global tuberculosis cases. Despite global recommendations for Isoniazid Preventive Therapy to prevent latent tuberculosis infection from progressing to active disease, the initiation and adherence to Isoniazid Preventive Therapy remain suboptimal, especially in high-burden settings.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) remains a leading infectious disease responsible for millions of deaths. RNA sequencing is a rapidly growing technique and a powerful approach to understanding host and pathogen cross-talks via transcriptional responses. However, its application is limited due to the high costs involved.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!