Profile of Tuberculosis among Foreign-born Asians Residing in Los Angeles County, California, 1985­1994.

PURPOSE. To present a profile of tuberculosis %lpar;TB) among foreign& shy;born Asians residing in Los Angeles County and priorities in eliminating TB. SUMMARY OF METHODS UTILIZED. The demographic and disease­related data were analyzed from a total of 3,364 TB cases among Asians, which were obtained over a 9­year period (1985& shy;1994) by the Los Angeles County Tuberculosis Control Program. Various sources were used to obtain the denominators needed to calculate case rates because no one source had all the information. The data were analyzed using the standard SAS statistical software system. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS. Ninety& shy;eight percent of Asians with TB were foreign& shy;born, and 91 percent of the foreign& shy;born with TB were born in countries with high endemic rates of TB (Vietnam, Philippines, South Korea and the People's Republic of China). The TB case rate of foreign& shy;born Asians increased linearly with increase in percent household income below poverty level. The relative risk of TB among newly arrived Vietnamese, Filipinos, Chinese from People's Republic of China and Koreans was 112.0, 91.0, 36.8 and 28.1 times higher than that of the overall U.S., respectively (risk). CONCLUSIONS. The current screening procedures identify large numbers of TB cases among newly arrived Asians who contribute significantly to the occurrence of TB in Los Angeles County. Better strategies should be developed to effectively reduce morbidity in foreign& shy;born Asians from countries with high endemic rates of TB. They include the development of a comprehensive, ethnic& shy;specific, culturally sensitive educational intervention campaign and readily accessible outreach clinics with culturally sensitive TB preventive therapy program. KEY WORDS. Asians, tuberculosis, immigrants, Filipinos, Koreans, Chiense, Vietnamese.