%0 Journal Article
%T Screening for tuberculosis infection among newly arrived asylum seekers: Comparison of QuantiFERON£¿TB Gold with tuberculin skin test
%A Brita Winje
%A Fredrik Oftung
%A Gro Korsvold
%A Turid Manns£¿ker
%A Anette Jeppesen
%A Ingunn Harstad
%A Berit Heier
%A Einar Heldal
%J BMC Infectious Diseases
%D 2008
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1471-2334-8-65
%X The 1000 asylum seekers (age ¡İ 18 years) enrolled in the study were voluntarily recruited from 2813 consecutive asylum seekers arriving at the national reception centre from September 2005 to June 2006. Participation included a QFT test and a questionnaire in addition to the mandatory TST and chest X-ray.Among 912 asylum seekers with valid test results, 29% (264) had a positive QFT test whereas 50% (460) tested positive with TST (indurations ¡İ 6 mm), indicating a high proportion of latent infection within this group. Among the TST positive participants 50% were QFT negative, whereas 7% of the TST negative participants were QFT positive. There was a significant association between increase in size of TST result and the likelihood of being QFT positive. Agreement between the tests was 71¨C79% depending on the chosen TST cut-off and it was higher for non-vaccinated individuals.By using QFT in routine screening, further follow-up could be avoided in 43% of the asylum seekers who would have been referred if based only on a positive TST (¡İ 6 mm). The proportion of individuals referred will be the same whether QFT replaces TST or is used as a supplement to confirm a positive TST, but the number tested will vary greatly. All three screening approaches would identify the same proportion (88¨C89%) of asylum seekers with a positive QFT and/or a TST ¡İ 15 mm, but different groups will be missed.The incidence of tuberculosis in Norway is generally low (6.3/100 000 population in 2006), but high among immigrants from countries where tuberculosis is endemic [1]. Most cases of tuberculosis are due to imported new strains rather than transmission within Norway [2,3]. WHO have estimated the global prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection in 1997 to be 35% for Africa, 44% for Southeast Asia and 15% for Europe [4]. The enormous pool of persons with latent tuberculosis challenges control of tuberculosis in low endemic countries. National guidelines for prevention and control of tuberculo
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/8/65