Linkage to Care Is Important and Necessary When Identifying Infections in Migrants

Elimination of HDV: Epidemiologic implications and public health perspectives

Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection causes the severest form of viral hepatitis in humans. Discovered in 1977, it was considered an infection prevalent in the eastern Mediterranean region. Today it is recognized as a global infection of public health importance, however accurate prevalence remains uncertain because of lack of good epidemiological studies. Under-screening for HDV is the single most important factor in under-estimating the true burden of infection. Urgent efforts are therefore needed to apply reliable screening tools and robust surveillance methodologies to study HDV. There is now a move by major hepatology societies to recommend HDV antibody testing in all persons with HBV infection. Important differences also need to be recognized between countries considered endemic or non-endemic countries. While the endemic infections likely spread horizontally in the general population, and is quite often nosocomial, in non-endemic countries special populations may carry the greater burden, such as persons with injection drug use and various sexual exposures. Even in endemic countries, HDV often exists in significant pockets of the general population. HDV has been categorized as an orphan infection due to lack of approved therapies. Recently there have significant advances in therapy and further clinical trials continue. However, as new therapies are approved, equitable access to the medications will become a major public health issue, particularly because most HDV patients live in low or low middle income countries.

Hepatitis Delta virus in migrants: The challenge of elimination (ANRS CO22 HEPATHER cohort)

Novel treatments for hepatitis Delta virus (HDV) infection provide promising opportunities to treat patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HDV co-infection. However, current clinical trials on HDV treatment rarely explore patients' barriers to treatments. In Europe, HDV infection mostly affects young migrants from HDV-endemic areas who experience early liver-related mortality. Migrants are more likely to face multiple situations of statutory and socioeconomic insecurity and structural barriers than non-migrants. These obstacles may impact their quality of life and can (i) lead them to give secondary importance to certain HDV care options, (ii) delay treatment initiation and (iii) affect their adherence and commitment to care. Preliminary results from the ANRS CO22 HEPATHER cohort show that the majority (61.6%) of HBV-HDV co-infected migrants live in poverty. Moreover, half were diagnosed and a quarter of those who initiated HBV treatment had been in France for no more than two years, a period when language skills are often still poor and when knowledge of the health and administrative system may be lacking. We advocate for increased social science research, in particular qualitative studies, to investigate the effects that multiple forms of precarity (weak access to social rights, language barriers, housing insecurity, unexpected expenditures and other difficulties) may have on HDV screening opportunities, follow-up, and treatment pathways in migrants. This will help adapt communication and care around viral hepatitis, as well as inform and orient medical services and public health actors about the difficulties that migrants encounter.

Strengthening screening for infectious diseases and vaccination among migrants in Europe: What is needed to close the implementation gaps?

Migration to the European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) affects the epidemiology of infectious diseases, including tuberculosis (TB), HIV, hepatitis B/C, and parasitic diseases. Some sub-populations of migrants are also considered to be an under-immunised group and thus at risk of vaccine-preventable diseases. Providing high-risk migrants access to timely and efficacious screening and vaccination, and understanding how best to implement more integrated screening and vaccination programmes into European health systems ensuring linkage to care and treatment, is key to improving the health of migrants and their communities, alongside meeting national and regional targets for infection surveillance, control, and elimination. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has responded to calls to action to improve migrant health and strengthen universal health coverage by developing evidence-based guidance for policy makers, public health experts, and front-line healthcare professionals on how to approach screening and vaccination in newly arrived migrants within the EU/EEA. In this Commentary, we provide a perspective towards developing efficacious screening and vaccination of newly arrived migrants, with a focus on defining implementation challenges and evidence gaps in high-migrant receiving EU/EEA countries. There is a need now to leverage the increasing momentum around migrant health to both strengthen the evidence-base and to advocate for universal access to health care for all migrants in the EU/EEA, including undocumented migrants. This should include voluntary, confidential, and non-stigmatising screening and vaccination that should be free of charge and facilitate linkage to appropriate care and treatment.

Integrated screening of migrants for multiple infectious diseases: Qualitative study of a city-wide programme

BACKGROUND

Migrants from certain regions are at increased risk of key infectious diseases (including HIV, tuberculosis (TB), hepatitis B and hepatitis C). Although guidelines increasingly recommend integrated screening for multiple infections to reduce morbidity little is known about what migrants and healthcare professionals think about this approach.

METHODS

Prospective qualitative study in Leicester, United Kingdom within a novel city-wide integrated screening programme in three iterative phases to understand views about infections and integrated screening. Phase 1 focus groups (nine) with migrants from diverse communities (n = 74); phase 2 semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals involved in the screening pathway (n = 32); phase 3 semi-structured interviews (n = 23) with individuals having tested positive for one/more infections through the programme. Analysis was informed by the constant comparative process and iterative across phases 1-3.

FINDINGS

Migrants' awareness of TB, HIV and hepatitis B/C varied, with greater awareness of TB and HIV than hepatitis B/C; perceived susceptibility to the infections was low. The integrated screening programme was well-received by migrants and professionals; concerns were limited to data-sharing. As anticipated, given the target group, language was cited as a challenge but mitigated by various interpretation strategies.

INTERPRETATION

This large qualitative analysis is the first to confirm that integrated screening for key infectious diseases is feasible, positively viewed by, and acceptable to, migrants and healthcare professionals. These findings support recent guideline recommendations and therefore have important implications for policy-makers and clinicians as programmes of this type are more widely implemented in diverse settings.

FUNDING

National Institute for Health Research.

Migration Medicine

Migration is increasing and practitioners need to be aware of the unique health needs of this population. The prevalence of infectious diseases among migrants varies and generally mirrors that of their countries of origin, but is modified by the circumstance of migration, the presence of pre-arrival screening programs and post arrival access to health care. To optimize the health of migrants practitioners; (1) should take all opportunities to screen migrants at risk for latent infections such as tuberculosis, chronic hepatitis B and C, HIV, strongyloidiasis, schistosomiasis and Chagas disease, (2) update routine vaccines in all age groups and, (3) be aware of "rare and tropical infections" related to migration and return travel.

The Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Hepatitis C Screening for Migrants in the EU/EEA: A Systematic Review

Chronic hepatitis C (HCV) is a public health priority in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) and is a leading cause of chronic liver disease and liver cancer. Migrants account for a disproportionate number of HCV cases in the EU/EEA (mean 14% of cases and >50% of cases in some countries). We conducted two systematic reviews (SR) to estimate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of HCV screening for migrants living in the EU/EEA. We found that screening tests for HCV are highly sensitive and specific. Clinical trials report direct acting antiviral (DAA) therapies are well-tolerated in a wide range of populations and cure almost all cases (>95%) and lead to an 85% lower risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma and an 80% lower risk of all-cause mortality. At 2015 costs, DAA based regimens were only moderately cost-effective and as a result less than 30% of people with HCV had been screened and less 5% of all HCV cases had been treated in the EU/EEA in 2015. Migrants face additional barriers in linkage to care and treatment due to several patient, practitioner, and health system barriers. Although decreasing HCV costs have made treatment more accessible in the EU/EEA, HCV elimination will only be possible in the region if health systems include and treat migrants for HCV.