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- Title
Overseas Treatment of Latent Tuberculosis Infection in US-Bound Immigrants.
- Authors
Khan, Amera; Phares, Christina R.; Hoang Lan Phuong; Dang Thi Kieu Trinh; Ha Phan; Merrifield, Cindy; Phan Thi Hong Le; Quach Thi Kim Lien; Sooc Ngoc Lan; Phan Thi Kim Thoa; Le Tran Minh Thu; Tran, Tiffany; Cuc Tran; Platt, Lucy; Maloney, Susan A.; Nguyen Viet Nhung; Payam Nahid; Oeltmann, John E.; Phuong, Hoang Lan; Trinh, Dang Thi Kieu
- Abstract
Seventy percent of tuberculosis (TB) cases in the United States occur among non-US-born persons; cases usually result from reactivation of latent TB infection (LTBI) likely acquired before the person's US arrival. We conducted a prospective study among US immigrant visa applicants undergoing the required overseas medical examination in Vietnam. Consenting applicants >15 years of age were offered an interferon-γ release assay (IGRA); those 12-14 years of age received an IGRA as part of the required examination. Eligible participants were offered LTBI treatment with 12 doses of weekly isoniazid and rifapentine. Of 5,311 immigrant visa applicants recruited, 2,438 (46%) consented to participate; 2,276 had an IGRA processed, and 484 (21%) tested positive. Among 452 participants eligible for treatment, 304 (67%) initiated treatment, and 268 (88%) completed treatment. We demonstrated that using the overseas medical examination to provide voluntary LTBI testing and treatment should be considered to advance US TB elimination efforts.
- Subjects
VIETNAM; UNITED States; TUBERCULOSIS; PERIODIC health examinations; IMMIGRANTS; INFECTION; BACTERIAL diseases
- Publication
Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2022, Vol 28, Issue 3, p582
- ISSN
1080-6040
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.3201/eid2803.212131