Tuberculosis among foreign-born persons in Taiwan, 2002-2005

Background/purpose: The foreign-born population has been growing in Taiwan. Most foreign-born persons come from countries with a high burden of tuberculosis (TB). Monitoring the trend and characteristics of TB in this population is essential for TB control in Taiwan. Methods: Information about foreign-born persons residing in Taiwan and data of all foreign-born TB cases notified during 2002-2005 were obtained from the national authorities and analyzed. Results: A total of 2444 foreign-born TB cases were notified during 2002-2005, which accounted for 3.6% of all notified TB cases during that period in Taiwan. The proportion of foreign-born TB cases was constant, without any significant yearly variation. The average annual TB notification rate in the foreign-born population was higher than that in the Taiwan-born population (94.0/100,000 vs. 72.0/100,000). There were significant differences in age, sex and regional distribution between foreign-born and Taiwan-born TB cases (p