TB among Foreign-born Persons, Singapore | CDC EID

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Volume 17, Number 3–March 2011
Dispatch
Tuberculosis among Foreign-born Persons, Singapore, 2000–2009
Khin Mar Kyi Win, Cynthia B.E. Chee, Liang Shen, Yee T. Wang, and Jeffery Cutter

Author affiliations: Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore (K.M. Kyi Win, C.B.E. Chee, Y.T. Wang); National University of Singapore, Singapore (L. Shen); and Ministry of Health, Singapore (J. Cutter)

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract
We determined the proportion of foreign-born persons with tuberculosis (TB) in Singapore. This proportion increased from 25.5% in 2004 to 37.6% in 2009. Unskilled workers from countries with high incidences of TB accounted for the highest number of and greatest increase in foreign-born TB case-patients.

Singapore, an island city-state (area 710 km2) in Southeast Asia, liberalized its immigration policy and underwent rapid economic growth during 2005–2010. This policy resulted in a marked increase in its population from 4.17 million in 2004 to 5.08 million in 2010, which was largely caused by an increase in foreign-born persons comprising long-term pass holders (LTPHs) (permission to stay in Singapore >6 months), permanent residents (PRs), and naturalized citizens (1). In recent decades, mass immigration and influx of nonimmigrants from countries with high incidences of tuberculosis (TB) to industrialized countries have contributed to the epidemiology and incidence of TB in host countries (2–9). We report the epidemiology of TB in foreign-born case-patients in Singapore during 2000–2009.

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TB among Foreign-born Persons, Singapore | CDC EID


Suggested Citation for this Article
Kyi Win KM, Chee CBE, Shen L, Wang YT, Cutter J. Tuberculosis among foreign-born persons, Singapore, 2000–2009. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2011 Mar [date cited]. http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/17/3/517.htm

DOI: 10.3201/eid1703.101615


Comments to the Authors
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Khin Mar Kyi Win, Singapore Tuberculosis Elimination Programme Registry, Tuberculosis Control Unit, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore; email: kyi_win_khin_mar@ttsh.com.sg