|
Tuberculosis risk for travellers (pp 442, 461)
August 02, 2000The risk of tuberculosis infection in long-term travellers to countries with high prevalence of the disease is substantial and of similar magnitude to the average risk for the local population, according to research published in this week’s issue of THE LANCET.
Little attention has been paid to the potential of international travellers to reintroduce tuberculosis into countries where the disease has become rare. Frank Cobelens and colleagues quantified the risk of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in 656 Dutch citizens who were about to visit an area of high tuberculosis prevalence (eg. Sub-Saharan Africa, Central America, or south-east Asia - where annual incidence is at least 1%) for a period of 3-12 months. Participants were skin tested for tuberculosis before departure, and those with negative results were tested again upon their return.
12 (1.8%) of the 656 individuals had an M tuberculosis infection on their return; the relative risk of tuberculosis infection was 3.7 times higher for health-care-worker travellers compared with non-health-care workers; the risk values were 7.9 per 1000 person-months of travel for health-care workers, and 2.8 per 1000 person-months of travel for non-health-care workers. The investigators conclude that BCG vaccination or post-travel tuberculin skin-testing of high-risk travellers should be considered.
In an accompanying Commentary (p 442), Alan Lifson discusses the pros and cons of different prevention strategies in these populations of travellers. He concludes that: “Today’s report of risk of tuberculosis infection to travellers highlights the links between the health of those in industrialised countries and the rest of the world”…”Whether one travels or not, tuberculosis teaches us that what happens in one part of the planet ultimately affects others elsewhere. Countries with more resources need to help resource-poor nations in their efforts to control this disease. Without global control of tuberculosis, no country or population is truly protected.”
Contact: Dr Frank Cobelens, Division of Infectious Diseases, Tropical Medicine & AIDS, Center for Tropical and Travel Medicine A01-331, Academic Medical Center, PO Box 22700, 1100 DE Amsterdam, Netherlands; T) +31 20 566 2929; F) +31 20 566 9061; E) f.g.cobelens@amc.uva.nl
Dr Henk van Deutekom, Tuberculosis Control Department, Amsterdam Municipal Health Service, Nieuwe Achtergracht 100, 1018 WT Amsterdam, Netherlands; T) +31 20 555 5240; E) HvDeutekom@gggd.amsterdam.nl
Dr Alan Lifson, Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Minnesota, MMC-250, 420 Delaware Street, SE Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA; T) +1 612 624 9996; F) +1 612 625 4410; E) lifso001@umn.edu
Lancet
Tuberculosis News and Current Tuberculosis Events RSSStudy helps identify which populations of foreign-born persons living in US at higher risk of TB
The relative yield of finding and treating latent tuberculosis is particularly high among higher-risk groups of foreign-born persons living in the U.S., such as individuals from most countries of sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.
Tuberculosis presents major challenges to HIV treatment in developing countries
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care and treatment programs in resource-limited settings must aggressively address tuberculosis (TB) and the emerging multidrug-resistant TB epidemic to save patient lives and to curb the global TB burden, a major cause of death for persons with HIV.
Bovine tuberculosis in wildlife threatens endangered lynx and cattle health
In an epidemiological survey of Spain's Doņana National Park, the findings of which are published on July 23 in the journal PLoS ONE, Christian Gortázar and colleagues studied the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis (bovine TB) infection among populations of wild boar, red deer and fallow deer in the national park, which is located in southern Spain.
New Guidelines for Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis
Proven combinations of medicines and the introduction of new anti-arthritis drugs have significantly improved the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to guidelines issued by the American College of Rheumatology and co-authored by physicians at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
Malaria Millennium Development Goal 'unlikely to be met'
The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria globally is unlikely to be met, according to Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow Professor Bob Snow.
New indicator uncovered that can predict coral health
A new indicator of coral health has been discovered in a community of microscopic single-celled algae called dinoflagellates.
D-cycloserine may improve behavioral therapy treatment for anxiety
Anxiety is a normal human response to stress, but in some, it can develop into a disabling disorder of excessive and irrational fears, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, or posttraumatic stress disorder. Effective treatments are available and can involve either behavioral therapy or medications.
New Electrostatic-based DNA Microarray Technique Could Revolutionize Medical Diagnostics
The dream of personalized medicine - in which diagnostics, risk predictions and treatment decisions are based on a patient's genetic profile - may be on the verge of being expanded beyond the wealthiest of nations with state-of-the-art clinics.
Predicting TB outbreaks based on the first 2 cases
Outbreaks of tuberculosis (TB) may be able to be identified by looking at certain characteristics of the first two patients, according to new research.
Radical reform is needed to stop the 'inhumane' practice of transplant tourism
The UK government must bring in presumed consent to organ donation or allow a controlled donor compensation programme for unrelated live donors, in order to bring the "inhumane" practice of transplant tourism from the UK to an end, claims a doctor in this week's BMJ.
More Tuberculosis News Articles
 | The Air We Breathe: A Novel by Andrea Barrett |
 | Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors by Susan Sontag |
 | Joe Gans: A Biography of the First African American World Boxing Champion by Colleen Aycock, Mark Scott |
 | Identification Problems in the Social Sciences by Charles F. Manski |
 | Basic Infection Control for Healthcare Providers by Michael Kennamer |
 | Towns of the Sandia Mountains (NM) (Images of America) by Mike Smith |
 | The White Plague: Tuberculosis, Man, and Society by Rene J. Dubos |
 | The White Death: A History of Tuberculosis by Thomas Dormandy |
| 13 is too young to die by Isaacsen-Bright | |
 | WINGS OF THE DOVE, THE - KINDLE EDITION [ENG] by Henry James |
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |