Trends and challenges in tuberculosis in a medium-sized southern European setting [Notes from the field]

• Published in: The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease Vol. 16; no. 5; pp. 645 - 648
• Main Authors: Pasticci, M. B., Mazzolla, R., Mercuri, A., Gamboni, G., Bombaci, J. C., Tiecco, C., Rubeca, M., Papili, R., Pasticci, F., Casali, L., Ferrara, G., Baldelli, F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Paris, France International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease 01-05-2012; International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease
• Subjects: Admissions; Adult; Age Factors; Anti-Tuberculosis Drug Resistance; Antitubercular Agents - therapeutic use; Bacterial diseases; Biological and medical sciences; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Emigrants and Immigrants - statistics & numerical data; Female; Foreign-Born; Hospitalization - statistics & numerical data; Hospitals, University; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Italy - epidemiology; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Mycobacterium; Mycobacterium Tuberculosis; Pneumology; Prospective Studies; Respiratory system : syndromes and miscellaneous diseases; Retrospective Studies; Tuberculosis - drug therapy; Tuberculosis - epidemiology; Tuberculosis - microbiology; Tuberculosis and atypical mycobacterial infections; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant - drug therapy; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant - epidemiology; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant - microbiology; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary - drug therapy; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary - epidemiology; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary - microbiology; Italy; Treatment resistance; foreign-born; Respiratory disease; Setting; admissions; anti-tuberculosis drug resistance; Mycobacterial infection; European; Infection; Tuberculosis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Mycobacteriales; Bacteriosis; Mycobacteriaceae; Bacteria; Actinomycetes; Pneumology
• ISSN: 1027-3719; 1815-7920
• DOI: 10.5588/ijtld.11.0618

Trends in tuberculosis (TB) admissions over 40 years at the Infectious Diseases Clinic of Perugia University Hospital, Perugia, Italy, show that in the last decade non-Italian TB case admissions outweighed those of Italians, with a large number of cases from Eastern Europe (25.2%) and
Africa (23.4%). Non-Italians tended to be younger and were generally new pulmonary TB cases, and drug resistance was also more common. Overall, the number of multidrug-resistant cases increased. Only one case occurred in a native-born Italian, and five of seven cases had newly diagnosed TB.
In low TB incidence settings such as Perugia, Italy, TB prevention and control programmes for the foreign-born need to be reinforced.