title: Intensified case-finding for latent tuberculosis infection among the Baltimore City Hispanic population.
abstract: Foreign-born immigrants are at high risk for latent TB infection (LTBI). In conjunction with the Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD), student volunteers conducted intensified LTBI case-finding (ICF) using tuberculin skin testing (TST) in the Hispanic community from 2006-2010. We sought to determine the yield of ICF and estimate the LTBI prevalence. Retrospective cross-sectional study. Among 478 individuals screened, 164 (34.3 %) had a positive TST, 227 (47.5 %) had a negative TST, and 87 (18.2 %) did not return. Among those who completed screening, the prevalence of LTBI was 164/391 (41.9, 95 % CI 0.37-0.47). ICF referrals accounted for 4.4 % of all LTBI referrals to BCHD and for 41 % of referrals among Hispanics. We found a high rate of undiagnosed LTBI within the Hispanic community. This student-run ICF program accounted for almost half of all LTBI cases among Hispanics. Community resources are needed to target this high-risk population.
authors: Division of Infectious Disease, Center for TB Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1503 East Jefferson St, Room 118, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA. mshah28@jhmi.edu
authors: Meghana
authors: M
authors: Desale
authors: Patrick
authors: P
authors: Bringardner
authors: Sheila
authors: S
authors: Fitzgerald
authors: Kathleen
authors: K
authors: Page
authors: Maunank
authors: M
authors: Shah
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015142:Baltimore; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D055985:Latent Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology*; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013334:Students; D014374:Tuberculin Test; D055815:Young Adult