Khader Yousef, Warrad Nathirah, Maiteh Sudi
Department of Public Health, Community Medicine, and Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
Center of Excellence for Applied Epidemiology, Global Health Development Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network, Amman, Jordan.
J Glob Infect Dis. 2024 May 24;16(2):54-59. doi: 10.4103/jgid.jgid_104_23. eCollection 2024 Apr-Jun.
Migration across national borders is an influential factor of consideration in the control of infectious diseases. Therefore, including migrants in surveillance and screening programs as well as linkage to care is mandatory to meet the public health targets of countries and regions. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) among migrant workers applying for work permits in Jordan during the period 2018-2020. The findings of this study are expected to guide health policy to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in Jordan.
During the period 2018-2020, 439,622 migrant workers underwent routine testing for TB, HIV, and hepatitis B and C. Demographic, laboratory, and clinical data for those migrants were retrieved from the Directorate of Chest Diseases and Immigrants Health records. The overall prevalence of the mentioned diseases as well as by subgroups was calculated.
The prevalence rates of TB and HIV among migrants were 54 per 100,000 migrants (11 per 100,000 male migrants and 138 per 100,000 female migrants, < 0.001) and 21 per 100,000 (11 per 100,000 male migrants and 41 per 100,000 female migrants, < 0.001), respectively. The prevalence of hepatitis B was 10 per 1000 migrants (12 per 1000 male migrants and 7 per 1000 female migrants, < 0.001) and the prevalence of hepatitis C was 37 per 1000 (51 per 1000 male migrants and 10 per 1000 female migrants, < 0.001). The prevalence of all studied conditions varied significantly according to gender, age, occupation, and country of origin.
The prevalence rates of TB, HIV, HBV, and HCV were generally higher among migrants than Jordanians. Evidence-based health policies need to be drafted that aim to address migrant workers health care to ensure the lowest possible risk from infectious diseases to the people of Jordan is maintained. The study findings can inform the formulation of immigration and public health policies, including screening requirements for migrant workers, health insurance provisions, labor regulations, and support services for those with these conditions.
跨国移民是传染病防控中一个需要考虑的重要因素。因此，将移民纳入监测和筛查计划以及提供医疗服务对接是实现各国和各地区公共卫生目标的必要举措。本研究旨在确定2018年至2020年期间在约旦申请工作许可的移民工人中结核病（TB）、人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）、乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）和丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）的患病率。本研究结果有望为约旦预防传染病传播的卫生政策提供指导。
在2018年至2020年期间，439622名移民工人接受了结核病、艾滋病毒以及乙型和丙型肝炎的常规检测。这些移民的人口统计学、实验室和临床数据从胸科疾病与移民健康局的记录中获取。计算了上述疾病的总体患病率以及按亚组划分的患病率。
移民中结核病和艾滋病毒的患病率分别为每10万名移民54例（每10万名男性移民11例，每10万名女性移民138例，P<0.001）和每10万名移民21例（每10万名男性移民11例，每10万名女性移民41例，P<0.001）。乙型肝炎的患病率为每1000名移民10例（每1000名男性移民12例，每1000名女性移民7例，P<0.001），丙型肝炎的患病率为每1000名移民37例（每1000名男性移民51例，每1000名女性移民10例，P<0.001）。所有研究疾病的患病率因性别、年龄、职业和原籍国的不同而有显著差异。
移民中结核病、艾滋病毒、乙型肝炎病毒和丙型肝炎病毒的患病率总体上高于约旦人。需要制定基于证据的卫生政策，旨在解决移民工人的医疗保健问题，以确保将约旦民众感染传染病的风险降至最低。研究结果可为移民和公共卫生政策的制定提供参考，包括移民工人的筛查要求、医疗保险规定、劳动法规以及为患有这些疾病的人提供的支持服务。
