Table 3 Potential strengths and weaknesses of different migrant screening methods
From: The impact of migration on tuberculosis epidemiology and control in high-income countries: a review
| Â | Screening methodology | |
|---|---|---|
| Â | Screening for active tuberculosis | Screening for latent tuberculosis infection |
Screening tool used | Chest x-ray | Tuberculin skin test |
Interferon gamma release assay | ||
Screening location | Pre-arrival | Post-arrival |
At arrival | ||
Post-arrival | ||
Strengths | Able to identify active TB | Identifies latent TB before reactivation occurs |
Able to identify infectious individuals | Can be built into community programmes | |
Can be integrated into immigration processes | Targeted screening likely to be cost-effective | |
Weaknesses | Low yields for active TB | Programmatically difficult to implement |
Uncertain cost-effectiveness (unless screening targeted) | Numbers accepting and completing treatment may be suboptimal | |
Does not identify patients with latent TB who can go on to reactivate | ||