High prevalence of clustered tuberculosis cases in Peruvian migrants in Florence, Italy

• Main Authors: Lorenzo Zammarchi (Author), Enrico Tortoli (Author), Emanuele Borroni (Author), Filippo Bartalesi (Author), Marianne Strohmeyer (Author), Simonetta Baretti (Author), Maria Tullia Simonetti (Author), Carola Liendo (Author), Maria Grazia Santini (Author), Gian Maria Rossolini (Author), Eduardo Gotuzzo (Author), Alessandro Bartoloni (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2014-12-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

Tuberculosis is a leading cause of morbidity for Peruvian migrants in Florence, Italy, where they account for about 20% of yearly diagnosed cases. A retrospective study on cases notified in Peruvian residents in Florence in the period 2001-2010 was carried out and available <em>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</em> strains were genotyped (MIRU-VNTR-24 and Spoligotyping). One hundred thirty eight cases were retrieved. Genotyping performed in 87 strains revealed that 39 (44.8%) belonged to 12 clusters. Assuming that in each cluster the transmission of tuberculosis from the index case took place in Florence, a large proportion of cases could be preventable by improving early diagnosis of contagious cases and contact tracing.

Item Description

2036-7430
2036-7449
10.4081/idr.2014.5646