Is new immigrant screening for tuberculosis still worthwhile?
BACKGROUND
new immigrant screening in the 1980s showed that the official Port of Arrival (POA) system performed poorly, that there was a significant yield in terms of clinical tuberculosis, and that preventive measures (chemoprophylaxis and BCG) were appropriate in a substantial minority Data for the 1990s was sought for comparison.


METHODS
prospective data on new immigrant screening for 1990-1994 inclusive in the Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley local government areas were analysed, and compared with previous 1983-1988 data.


RESULTS
of the 2242 new immigrants screened, 1333 were from Pakistan, 604 from India and 305 from the rest of the world. A total of 898 (40%) were found via the POA system, but 1344 (60%) were only identified by local links with the Family Health Services Authority (FHSA). Ten cases of active tuberculosis were found (0.45%), chemoprophylaxis was given to 19/465 (4.1%) of children aged 0-15 years, and BCG vaccination to 530/1705 (31%) of those aged under 30 years.


CONCLUSIONS
between 1990-1994 the official POA system continued to perform poorly. The yield of new tuberculosis cases detected was lower than in the 1980s. Chemoprophylaxis at 4% and BCG vaccination at 31% showed that preventive health measures were appropriate for over one-third of new immigrants aged under 30.
Ormerod
L P
LP
Chest Clinic, Blackburn Royal Infirmary, Lancs, UK.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001500:BCG Vaccine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D018890:Chemoprevention; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008403:Mass Screening; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
D001500:BCG Vaccine