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Migrants in Europe at higher risk of tuberculosis: WHO

Xinhua, March 18, 2016 Adjust font size:

The World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe warns that people from the most vulnerable groups in Europe, including migrants and refugees, are at higher risk of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, said a spokesperson here on Thursday.

UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a daily briefing that the WHO said because of the living conditions of the vulnerable groups, tuberculosis (TB) is often diagnosed late, and it is harder for them to complete a treatment course.

"At this point no systematic association between migration and transmission of TB has been established, the WHO emphasizes that TB screening must never be used as a reason to reject a refugee or a migrant," said Dujarric.

Multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis is defined as a form of tuberculosis infection caused by bacteria that are resistant to treatment with at least two of the most powerful first-line anti-TB drugs.

According to the WHO Europe office, the risk that migrants and refugees will be infected or develop TB depends on several factors, including the TB rates in the country of origin. And its data shows that new TB cases in some of the countries of origin are lower than the European Region average.

An estimated 340,000 Europeans had tuberculosis in 2014, corresponding to a rate of 37 cases per 100,000 population, according to data released by the WHO Europe and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

While statistics show that in the Syrian Arab Republic, the rate of new TB cases is 17 per 100,000 population, which is less than half the European Region average.

In addition, the WHO noted that as TB is not easily transmitted and contacts are limited, there is a low risk that migrants will transmit the disease to resident populations. Enditem