title: High prevalence of clustered tuberculosis cases in peruvian migrants in florence, Italy.
abstract: Tuberculosis is a leading cause of morbidity for Peruvian migrants in Florence, Italy, where they account for about 20% of yearly diagnosed cases. A retrospective study on cases notified in Peruvian residents in Florence in the period 2001-2010 was carried out and available Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains were genotyped (MIRU-VNTR-24 and Spoligotyping). One hundred thirty eight cases were retrieved. Genotyping performed in 87 strains revealed that 39 (44.8%) belonged to 12 clusters. Assuming that in each cluster the transmission of tuberculosis from the index case took place in Florence, a large proportion of cases could be preventable by improving early diagnosis of contagious cases and contact tracing.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence School of Medicine , Italy.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zammarchi
authors.affiliation: Emerging Bacterial Pathogens, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute , Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tortoli
authors.affiliation: Emerging Bacterial Pathogens, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute , Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Emanuele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Borroni
authors.affiliation: SOD Malattie Infettive e Tropicali, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Careggi , Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bartalesi
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence School of Medicine , Italy.
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Strohmeyer
authors.affiliation: UF Igiene e Sanità Pubblica , ASL 10 Zona Firenze, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Simonetta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baretti
authors.affiliation: SOD Microbiologia e Virologia, Centro di Riferimento per i Micobatteri della Regione Toscana, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Careggi , Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Tullia
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Simonetti
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Medicina Tropical Alexander von Humboldt, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia , Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Carola
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liendo
authors.affiliation: UF Igiene e Sanità Pubblica , ASL 10 Zona Firenze, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Grazia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Santini
authors.affiliation: SOD Microbiologia e Virologia, Centro di Riferimento per i Micobatteri della Regione Toscana, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Careggi , Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Gian Maria
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Rossolini
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Medicina Tropical Alexander von Humboldt, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia , Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gotuzzo
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence School of Medicine , Italy ; SOD Malattie Infettive e Tropicali, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Careggi , Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bartoloni
keywords: Italy; Peru; cluster; epidemiology; immigrants; migrants; tuberculosis