Prevalence of latent tuberculosis among refugee children in Malaysia

Introduction: Tuberculosis remains one of the top 10 major causes of global mortality, imposing social-economic and medical challenges in Malaysia. Refugees sheltered in Malaysia are a high-risk population but basic health checks upon their arrival, including tuberculosis screening, are not practised. This study aimed to identify the prevalence and risk factors of tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among refugee children in Malaysia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in three refugee schools in the Klang Valley, Malaysia, using tuberculin skin tests or interferon-γ release assays. Participants who tested positive were sent for further examination with chest radiography to confirm the tuberculosis diagnosis.

Results: From April 2018 to April 2019, we screened 430 refugee children with a median age of 13.0 years. Most of the children were born in Myanmar (n=274, 63.7%) and Pakistan (n=60, 14.0%). No children were diagnosed with active tuberculosis but 55 of the children (12.8%) were diagnosed with LTBI. Children with LTBI were generally older (OR 3.01, 95% CI 1.71-5.29; p<0.001) than those without LTBI infection. Sex, history of bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccination and country of birth were not associated with increased risk of LTBI.

Conclusion: The relatively high LTBI burden among refugee children in this study poses an indication of possible LTBI risk among this population nationwide, and thus would be an important group to target for preventive therapy. This provides a unique opportunity for researchers to further examine and implement well-structured preventive strategies in combating the endemic infectious disease in Malaysia.