title: Screening for latent tuberculosis infection among undocumented immigrants in Swiss healthcare centres; a descriptive exploratory study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Migration is one of the major causes of tuberculosis in developed countries. Undocumented patients are usually not screened at the border and are not covered by a health insurance increasing their risk of developing the disease unnoticed. Urban health centres could help identify this population at risk. The objective of this study is to assess the prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and adherence to preventive treatment in a population of undocumented immigrant patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  All consecutive undocumented patients that visited two urban healthcare centres for vulnerable populations in Lausanne, Switzerland for the first time were offered tuberculosis screening with an interferon-gamma assay. Preventive treatment was offered if indicated. Adherence to treatment was evaluated monthly over a nine month period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 161 participants, 131 (81.4%) agreed to screening and 125 had complete examinations. Twenty-four of the 125 patients (19.2%; CI95% 12.7;27.2) had positive interferon-gamma assay results, two of which had active tuberculosis. Only five patients with LTBI completed full preventive treatments. Five others initiated the treatment but did not follow through.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Screening for tuberculosis infection in this hard-to-reach population is feasible in dedicated urban clinics, and the prevalence of LTBI is high in this vulnerable population. However, the low adherence to treatment is an important public health concern, and new strategies are needed to address this problem.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ambulatory Care and Community Medicine, University of Lausanne, Switzerland. patrick.bodenmann@hospvd.ch
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bodenmann
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vaucher
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wolff
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Favrat
authors.forename: Fanny
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de Tribolet
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Masserey
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Zellweger