Tuberculosis screening among asylum seekers in Sardinia

Abstract

Background: In Italy, the guidelines for preventing Tuberculosis (TB) include X-ray screening and application of the Mantoux test for migrants from TB-endemic countries as soon as possible after admission to Italy. This article describes a screening survey conducted in the reception center for asylum seekers in Northern Sardinia. Methods: The screening tests of Mantoux, chest X-ray, QuantiFERON TB Gold and Inducible-protein-10 were carried out on 109 subjects came from Africa and Asia. Results: Mantoux was positive in 40 subjects and negative in 69. Chest X-rays were performed in all of the 40 Mantoux-positive subjects, and it was negative. QuantiFERON was positive in 16 refugees, negative in 92 and indeterminate in 1. A positive Inducible-protein-10 response was observed in 29 subjects, while a negative result was detected in 80 subjects. Conclusions: Our results showed that the Mantoux may not be a suitable screening test in the migrant population considering its low specificity. QFT may be more suitable to identify subjects with tubercular infection may to receive preventive therapy, although its sensitivity could be increased by the Inducible-protein-10.