IngentaConnect Migrants and tuberculosis: analysing epidemiological data with et...

Authors: Littleton, Judith¹; Park, Julie¹; Thornley, Craig²; Anderson, Anneka¹; Lawrence, Jody³

Source: Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, Volume 32, Number 2, April 2008 , pp. 142-149(8)

Abstract:

Objective: Media portrayals of tuberculosis (TB) in New Zealand are of immigrants who enter the country with active disease and pose a threat to inhabitants, which fosters a popular perception that border control is the best and only response to disease control. This paper reviews both New Zealand and international data on TB rates, causes and transmission among migrant populations to elucidate the precise nature of the link between immigration and TB rates.

Methods: Recent information from scholarly journals on immigration and TB was reviewed. Surveillance data from New Zealand and comparable information from other low-incidence countries were reviewed.

Conclusions and Implications: The importation of active TB is only a minor part of the total TB burden. While effective border control is essential, equally, if not more important, are the circumstances that promote the reactivation of latent TB infection in migrant communities, including migrants' experiences in transit and after arrival, structural conditions, and personal characteristics. For sound prevention strategies, attention needs to be paid to the existence of transnational communities and the conditions for migrants, rather than placing a singular focus on place of birth.

Keywords: Medical anthropology; New Zealand; transnationalism; migrant health

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1111/j.1753-6405.2008.00191.x

Affiliations: 1: Anthropology Department, University of Auckland, New Zealand 2: Auckland Regional Public Health Service, New Zealand 3: School of Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Auckland, New Zealand

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Migrants and tuberculosis: analysing epidemiological data with ethnography