Dear Editor, we read the publication on “Tuberculosis and Latent Tuberculosis Infection Screening Among Asylum Seekers in Milan, Italy” with a great interest (Citation1). The present report is concordant with a recent similar report from Italy (Citation2). The shared data between the two publications can confirm the importance of tuberculosis screening for asylum seekers. In fact, the imported tuberculosis from endemic area is an important problem in several countries. Several migrant, especially for those with underlying diseases such as COPD, have the high chance to carry tuberculosis. We hereby would like to share experience from a remote area in Indochina, where the tuberculosis is extremely prevalent. The authors hereby share the experience on the available data on active tuberculosis screening performed at Chiangrai province, Thailand. The setting is at the Golden Triangle, which is full of migrant minorities and several public health problems (Citation3). Based on the records from active tuberculosis screening among patients with COPD in this area (available online at http://www.tbhivfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Slide-PCMO-for-May-18th-Meeting.pdf), 6 from 1,647 screened patients have tuberculosis giving the rate equal to 0.36% (95% confidence interval = 0.16%–0.81%) or 360 per 100,000 immigrant COPD population, which is higher than incidence of local non-immigrants with COPD (180/100,000 according to Thai Ministry of Public Health). This can confirm the importance of tuberculosis as a health problem for the COPD patients in this area. Indeed, Byrne et al. noted that “In tuberculosis endemic areas, tuberculosis is strongly associated with the presence of chronic respiratory disease in adults” (Citation4). The migration of the patients from an endemic country can cause the problem in other nearby and remote immigrated countries.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflict of interest.
References
- Villa S, Faccini M, Pontello AM, et al. Tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis infection screening among asylum seekers in Milan, Italy. COPD. 2019;16:211–212. doi:10.1080/15412555.2019.1613777.
- Pontarelli A, Marchese V, Scolari C, et al. Screening for active and latent tuberculosis among asylum seekers in Italy: a retrospective cohort analysis. Travel Med Infect Dis. 2019;27:39–45. doi:10.1016/j.tmaid.2018.10.015.
- Lyttleton C, Cohen PT. Harm reduction and alternative development in the Golden Triangle. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2003;22:83–91. doi:10.1080/0959523021000059866.
- Byrne AL, Marais BJ, Mitnick CD, et al. Tuberculosis and chronic respiratory disease: a systematic review. Int J Infect Dis. 2015;32:138–146. doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2014.12.016.