Tuberculosis treatment outcomes of non-citizen migrants: Israel compared to other high-income countries

Tuberculosis in elderly Australians: a 10-year retrospective review

Objective

This report describes the epidemiology of active tuberculosis (TB) in elderly Australians (≥ 65 years) with analysis of the factors associated with TB disease and successful treatment outcomes.

Methods

A retrospective study of TB cases reported to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System over a 10-year period from 2011 to 2020 was conducted. Cases were stratified by sex, age, risk factors, drug resistance, treatment type and outcome. Notification rates and incidence rate ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated and factors associated with treatment success analysed using multivariable logistic regression.

Results

A total of 2231 TB cases among elderly people were reported over the study period, with a 10-year mean incidence rate of 6.2 per 100 000 population. The median age of cases was 75 years (range 65-100 years); most were male (65%) and born overseas (85%). Multivariable analysis found that successful treatment outcome was strongly associated with younger age, while unsuccessful treatment outcome was associated with being diagnosed within the first 2 years of arrival in Australia, ever having resided in an aged-care facility and resistance to fluoroquinolones.

Discussion

Compared to other low-incidence settings in the Western Pacific Region, TB incidence in elderly people is low and stable in Australia, with most cases occurring among recent migrants from TB-endemic settings. Continued efforts to reduce TB importation and address migrant health, especially among elderly people, are important.

A Systematic Review on Pulmonary TB Burden and Associated Factors Among Immigrants in the UK

Background

The rapid growth of international human migration has positioned the UK in the top five countries in the world with 9.4 million immigrants in 2022. These immigrants originate from low- and middle-income countries and remain particularly at risk of developing TB. In the UK, the number of TB cases has been increasing, and the influx of immigrants could be a contributing factor.

Objective

This review aims to map the burden of pulmonary TB among immigrants in the UK and investigate associated factors. It also reviews the TB management approaches among immigrants in the UK.

Design

The study utilized PRISMA guidelines to search electronic databases (PubMed and EMBASE) for articles published from 2000 to 2022 on TB prevalence and factors in immigrants and explored government websites for TB management strategies.

Results

Nineteen out of 530 initially identified articles were included. The included studies reported a prevalence rate of TB among immigrants ranging from 0.04 to 52.1%, showing a decrease in the burden over time. Additionally, a higher number of TB cases were observed among immigrants from the Asian region, particularly immigrants from South Asia, followed by those from sub-Saharan Africa. Stigma, misconception about the disease, language barrier, lack of confidentiality, and unfriendly healthcare system for immigrants were the main drivers of the TB burden among immigrants. The TB management approaches in the UK include pre-entry screening for active TB, LTBI testing for a specific population group, and antibacterial therapy for 3-6 months for TB patients.

Conclusion

The UK's control and prevention efforts in reducing tuberculosis prevalence among immigrants show optimism, but challenges persist. Key improvements include healthcare delivery, TB improvement programs, and policies addressing stigma and patient confidentiality.

Genomic, phenotypic and demographic characterization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Israel in 2021

According to World Health Organization WHO, Tuberculosis (TB) is the second cause of death from infectious disease worldwide. During 2021, 10.6 million people were infected with TB, and 1.6 million people died. TB is caused by pathogens belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), mainly by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb). Members of this complex are acid-fast bacilli, which can cause intrapulmonary and extra pulmonary TB, and can be divided into various lineages, based on genomic markers. The main public health threat comes from drug resistant M.tb strains, which are responsible for about 25% of TB death and treatment failure worldwide. Treating drug resistant TB patients significantly raises the costs of TB treatment. This study provides an overview of the demographic and drug susceptibility characteristics of newly diagnosed TB patients in Israel in 2021. The State of Israel has a very low level of TB endemicity and is at a pre-elimination phase. Notably, only 11.7% of the newly diagnosed TB patients were born in Israel. In this report, of the 154 new laboratory-confirmed TB patients, 66.7% had pulmonary TB, while 16% had extrapulmonary TB. Males accounted for 52% of the patients, with the most prevalent age group being 21-40. Most patients were citizens of Israel (53.9%), while 37.7% had no Israeli citizenship. Among non-citizens, there was a predominance of males and patients aged 21-40. The susceptibility profile showed a high resistance rate to streptomycin (18.2%) and to a lower extent to isoniazid (13.6%), pyrazinamide (8.4%), rifampicin (7.8%), and ethambutol (3.2%). Only 2 cases of XDR-TB and 10 MDR-TB strains were detected in Israel in 2021, with both XDR strains and 5 out of 10 MDR strains belonging to the Beijing lineage. Most of Beijing isolates were resistant to at least one tested drug. Genomic sequencing of 134 out of 156 strains and bioinformatics analysis using the MTBseq program and WHO mutation catalogue shows a good match with only 9 discrepancies between phenotypic and genotypic susceptibility profiles in first line drugs. The most common lineage is Delhi-Cas (23%) followed by the Beijing lineage (17%). Most patients from the Delhi-Cas lineage were born in Africa, while patients with Beijing isolates were born in different countries. Minimum spanning tree analysis identified 15 clusters. The study highlights the need for ongoing surveillance of TB using molecular and phenotypic tools to further decreasing the spreading level of the disease and develop effective treatment strategies.

Predictors for Pulmonary Tuberculosis Outcome and Adverse Events in an Italian Referral Hospital: A Nine-Year Retrospective Study (2013–2021)

Background:

The COVID-19 pandemic has undone years of progress in providing essential TB services and controlling the TB burden. Italy, a low TB burden country, has an incidence of 7.1 cases per 100,000 people. To control the TB spreading in Italy is critical to investigate the characteristics of patients with the worst outcomes and the highest risk of adverse events related to antituberculosis therapy. Therefore, we conducted a large retrospective study in TB patients admitted to the Clinic of Infectious Diseases University of Bari, Italy, in order to describe the clinical presentation and the factors associated with adverse events and outcomes.

Methods:

We retrospectively evaluated the patients admitted to the Clinic of Infectious Diseases from January 2013 to 15 December 2021. We stratified our cohort into two groups: <65 years of age and ≥65 years in order to assess any differences between the two groups. Two logistic regression models were implemented considering the dependent variables as: (I) the adverse events; and (II) the unsuccessful treatments.

Results:

In total, 206 consecutive patients [60% (n = 124) M, median age 39 years, range 16–92] were diagnosed and admitted with TB at Clinic of Infectious Diseases. Of the whole sample, 151 (74%) were <65 years and 55 (26%) were ≥65. Statistically significant differences between the two groups were detected (p-value < 0.05) for nationality (p-value = 0.01), previous contact with TB patient (p-value = 0.00), type of TB (p-value = 0.00), unsuccessful treatment (p-value = 0.00), length of hospitalization (p-value = 0.02) and diagnostic delay (p-value = 0.01). Adverse events related to TB drug regimen were reported in 24% (n = 49). Age < 65 years (O.R. = 3.91; 95% CI 1.72–4.21), non-Italian nationality (O.R. = 4.45; 95% CI 2.22–4.98.), homeless (O.R. = 3.23; 95% CI 2.58–4.54), presence of respiratory symptoms (O.R. = 1.23; 95% CI 1.10–1.90), diagnostic delay (O.R = 2.55; 95% CI 1.98–3.77) resulted associated with unsuccessful treatment outcome (death, failure or lost to follow up). Finally, age < 65 years (O.R. = 1.73; 95% CI 1.31–2.49), presence of pulmonary TB (O.R. = 1.15; 95% CI 1.02–1.35), length of hospitalization (O.R. = 1.82; 95% CI 1.35–2.57) and TB culture positive (O.R. = 1.35; 95% CI 1.12–1.82) were associated with adverse events in our populations.

Conclusions:

The pharmacological approach alone seems insufficient to treat and cure a disease whose ethiopathogenesis is not only due to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but also to the poverty or the social fragility. Our data suggest that young foreigners, the homeless, and the people with low social and economic status are at higher risk of an unfavorable outcome in low incidence TB countries. Targeted actions to support this highly vulnerable population both in terms of outcome and occurrence of adverse events are needed.

South to North Migration Patterns of Tuberculosis Patients Diagnosed in the Mexican Border with Texas

The Mexican state of Tamaulipas serves as a migration waypoint into the US. Here, we determined the contribution of immigrants to TB burden in Tamaulipas. TB surveillance data from Tamaulipas (2006-2013) was used to conduct a cross-sectional characterization of TB immigrants (born outside Tamaulipas) and identify their association with TB treatment outcomes. Immigrants comprised 30.8% of TB patients, with > 99% originating from internal Mexican migration. Most migration was from South to North, with cities adjacent to the US border as destinations. Immigrants had higher odds of risk factors for TB [older age (≥ 65 year old, OR 2.4, 95% CI 2.1, 2.8), low education (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.2, 1.4), diabetes (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1, 1.4)], or abandoning treatment (adjusted OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.0, 1.5). There is a need to identify strategies to prevent TB more effectively in Tamaulipas, a Mexican migration waypoint.