Outbreaks in U.S. Migrant Detention Centers — A Vaccine-Preventable Cause of Health Inequity
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- Category: Communicable diseases
- Publication Date: August 19, 2023
Rates of vaccine-preventable infectious diseases are high among migrants detained in the United States. In 2022, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained more than 300,000 migrants, housing them in detention centres with unfavourable environmental conditions that increase the risk of infectious disease transmission and outbreaks due to overcrowding, poor ventilation and lack of sanitation. In addition, detained migrants often have poor access to medical care, including vaccination. During the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, ICE began publicly reporting the numbers of Covid-19 cases and deaths. At the beginning of the pandemic, the incidence of Covid-19 in the migrant detainee population was 13 times higher than in the general US population.
Spatial clustering and temporal trend analysis of international migrants diagnosed with tuberculosis in Brazil
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- Category: Communicable diseases
- Publication Date: June 9, 2021
Tuberculosis (TB) in migrants is of concern to health authorities worldwide and is even more critical in Brazil, considering the country´s size and long land borders. The aim of the study was to identify critical areas in Brazil for migrants diagnosed with TB and to describe the temporal trend in this phenomenon in recent years. 2,471 TB cases were reported in migrants. Gi* analysis showed that areas with spatial association with TB in immigrants coincide with critical areas for TB in the general population (coast of the Southeast and North regions). Four TB clusters were identified in immigrants in the states of Amazonas, Roraima, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro, with an upward trend in most of these clusters. The temporal trend in TB in immigrants was classified as increasing in Brazil (+ 60.66% per year [95% CI: 27.21-91.85]) and in the clusters in the states of Amazonas, Roraima, and Rio de Janeiro (+1.01, +2.15, and + 2.90% per year, respectively). The cluster in the state of São Paulo was the only one classified as stationary. The descriptive data on the municipalities belonging to the clusters showed evidence of the association between TB incidence and conditions of social vulnerability.
Characterization of an outbreak of malaria in a non-endemic zone on the coastal region of Ecuador
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- Category: Communicable diseases
- Publication Date: 12/04/2021
Malaria is a vector-borne disease widely distributed in the Amazon region and the coastal area of northern Ecuador. Its epidemiology involves related factors such as human settlements, vector reproduction sites, mobility, productive activity, and the response capacity of health systems, among others. Objective: To describe malaria transmission by Plasmodium vivax in a non-endemic area of Ecuador by analyzing the epidemiological and entomological factors involved. Materials and methods: We conducted the epidemiological study of the cases reported in the Salinas canton and the characterization of vector breeding sites through captures of larvae and adult mosquitoes by human capture of resting mosquitoes. Results: We detected 21 cases of malaria with local transmission related to the presence of initial cases in Venezuelan migrant patients and identified Anopheles albimanus as the predominant vector in natural breeding sites such as estuaries, wells, and water channels. Conclusions: We detected an outbreak of malaria triggered by imported cases from Venezuela. Climatic, social, environmental, and ecological conditions have favored the development of the vector maintaining the transmission cycle. Strategies to control imported malaria should be multiple including early case detection and control of productive breeding sites to avoid local transmission.
A binational analysis of infant mortality among crisis-driven diasporas and those who remain
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- Category: Communicable diseases
- Publication Date: 28 July 2022
The objective of the study was to assess the health cost (or benefit) of crisis-driven migration by focusing on the infant mortality rate (IMR) of the Colombian diaspora in Venezuela and the Venezuelan diaspora in Colombia. We compare national IMRs with those of the diaspora during the period 1980-2018. We analyze diaspora diaspora IMRs according to whether their arrival corresponds to crisis-driven or crisis-driven migration. Results During crises, diaspora IMRs show better health outcomes than those of non-migrants. The Colombian diaspora Colombian diaspora had a mean annual IMR of -1.8 (95% CI -3.3 to 0.28) per year and the Venezuelan diaspora had -4.5 (95% CI -5.8 to -3.3). However, the protective role of migration is neither warranted nor consistent, as a crisis in the immigrant population, since a crisis in the destination country exposes immigrants to worse health outcomes than the non-migrant population. Migration is a coping strategy that allows survival strategy that allows people to reduce the negative effects of crises in their country of origin. negative effects of the crisis in their country of origin. The distinction between crisis-driven migration and pre-crisis migration provides a framework for assessing the cross-border effects of migration. to assess the cross-border effects on the health outcomes of the diaspora, on the of diaspora, especially when populations face adverse conditions. face adverse conditions.
Forced Migration and the Spread of Infectious Diseases
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- Category: Communicable diseases
- Publication Date: Dec 2020
We examine the role of Venezuelan forced migration on the propagation of 15 infectious dis- eases in Colombia. For this purpose, we use rich municipal-monthly panel data. We exploit the fact that municipalities closer to the main migration entry points have a disproportionate ex- posure to infected migrants when the cumulative migration flows increase. We find that higher refugee inflows are associated with increments in the incidence of vaccine-preventable dis- eases, such as chickenpox and tuberculosis, as well as sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS and syphilis. However, we find no significant effects of migration on the propagation of vector-borne diseases. Contact with infected migrants upon arrival seems to be the main driving mechanism
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