22 December 2011

Health Protection Agency report on migrant health

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has published the second migrant health report Migrant Health: Infectious diseases in non-UK born populations in the UK.

The key findings include:

• In 2010, it was estimated that 12% of the total UK population were born abroad; in 2001 the figure was 8%.
• In 2010, 73% of TB cases reported in the UK, almost 60% of newly diagnosed cases of HIV, and 80% of hepatitis B infected UK blood donors were born abroad.

UK residents travelling to visit friends and relatives in their country of origin were identified as the major risk group for several important travel associated diseases. Where information was available, 61% of malaria cases reported in the UK in 2010 and 87% of enteric fever cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who had travelled abroad between 2007 and 2010, were visiting friends and relatives. Both of these diseases are preventable through pre-travel advice and appropriate prophylactic measures.

Primary care practitioners play a vital role in early identification of infectious diseases and are encouraged to consider their patients’ country of birth when evaluating their risk exposures and to guide their differential diagnosis of presenting symptoms thereby reducing the burden of infectious disease in the populations that are at highest risk.

The full report can be accessed on the HPA website.