title: [Compliance of asylum seekers with an expanded border health screening program in the Basel-Stadt canton 1992-1993].
abstract: In 1992, the Swiss Public Health Office introduced an expanded tuberculosis screening program for refugees. In addition to routine chest X-rays, it includes tuberculosis skin testing and prophylactic treatment with isoniazid of skin test positive individuals. In addition, a vaccine program has been established which, besides routine hepatitis B vaccination of anti-HBc negative individuals, includes vaccination of all refugees against tetanus, diphtheria, polio, measles, mumps and rubella. The two-year experience of this expanded program is reported from Canton Basel-Stadt, Switzerland. During the two-year period (1992 to 1993), 289 adults and 53 children were screened. In 3.1% (n = 9) of 289 refugees who were examined by X-ray, smear positive tuberculosis was found. These 9 cases contributed 12% of all tuberculosis cases identified in Canton Basel-Stadt during the observation period. In 4.4% of all refugees prophylactic treatment with isoniazid was initiated, but 7 of the 15 cases (46.6%) did not complete the prophylaxis. In contrast, compliance with the vaccine program was better and complete vaccination was achieved in 90% of all refugees. The prevalence of anti-HBc antibodies was 28.7% and highest among refugees from Turkey (48.6%) and Africa (34.2%). X-ray screening for tuberculosis in high risk populations such as refugees is effective. However, compliance with 6 months' prophylactic treatment with isoniazid for skin test positives was only moderate.
authors.affiliation: Medizinische Universitäts-Poliklinik, Kantonsspital Basel.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bucher
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weinbacher
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gyr
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001500:BCG Vaccine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002648:Child; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D007538:Isoniazid / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008403:Mass Screening; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011859:Radiography; D012036:Refugees; D013557:Switzerland; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D001500:BCG Vaccine; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens; D007538:Isoniazid
vernacular_title: Compliance von Asylbewerbern mit der erweiterten grenzsanitarischen Untersuchung im Kanton Basel-Stadt 1992-1993.