Prevalence and epidemiological pattern of drug-resistant tuberculosis among migrant populations in Wenzhou City, China, 2014-2023: implications for public health strategies.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to analyze the epidemiological characteristics and trends of notified multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Wenzhou City, China, from 2014 to 2023, with a focus on differences between migrant and local populations among reported TB cases.

METHODS

This was a facility-based retrospective cohort study that included all bacteriologically confirmed TB cases notified between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2023 in the Tuberculosis Information Management System (TBIMS) of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the hospital's laboratory information system, provided they had available phenotypic drug-susceptibility testing (pDST) results. Pearson's chi-square test was used to compare drug-resistance rates between groups, the trend chi-square test was applied to assess temporal changes, and a Sankey diagram was employed to illustrate the origins and intra-city distribution of MDR-TB among the migrant population.

RESULTS

Among 10,993 notified TB patients, 734 (6.68%) were classified as MDR-TB. The proportion of MDR-TB among notified cases declined over the study period ( < 0.001). Nearly half (352/734; 47.96%) of the notified MDR-TB patients were migrants; 226 (64.21%) originated from elsewhere in Zhejiang Province, and 126 (35.79%) came from outside the province. Guizhou, Jiangxi and Sichuan were the leading external contributors. Within Wenzhou, Yueqing City, Yongjia County and Ouhai District reported the highest numbers of migrant MDR-TB notifications.

CONCLUSION

The proportion of MDR-TB among notified TB cases in Wenzhou City has steadily decreased. Migrants account for almost half of these notified MDR-TB cases. Surveillance-driven and migrant-targeted interventions should be prioritized to further reduce MDR-TB transmission.