Pulmonary tuberculosis among Southeast Asian refugee immigrants to British Columbia

Undetected acute Pulmonary Tuberculosis in the 50,000 refugee immigrants from Southeast Asia to Canada would constitute a serious public health hazard. The 10,000 Southeast Asian refugee immigrants to British Columbia in 1979/80 were rescreened for acute Pulmonary Tuberculosis despite provincial and federal health authorities disagreeing on the need for such rescreening. This thesis demonstrates that the rescreening of the refugee immigrants was warranted by: A) Comparing the rate per 100,000 population with acute Pulmonary Tuberculosis among: 1) The Southeast Asian refugee immigrants arriving in British Columbia in 1979/80 with the rates of acute Pulmonary Tuberculosis per 100,000 population for the three-year period 1976/78 among 2) the general population of British Columbia, 3) the registered native Indian population of British Columbia, 4) the non-refugee Asian immigrant population arriving in British Columbia, and B) Estimating the increased risk of acute Pulmonary Tuberculosis to the general public from the presence of the 10,000 refugee immigrants in British Columbia. Age-specific rates of acute Pulmonary Tuberculosis and the prevalence rates of acute Pulmonary Tuberculosis confirmed bacteriologically were calculated with statistics extracted from the records of the Division of Tuberculosis Control of British Columbia, the Federal Department of Health and Welfare, and the Department of Immigration. Comparison of the age-specific rates demonstrated that acute Pulmonary Tuberculosis occurred 6 times more frequently in the refugee immigrants than in the general population of British Columbia, and 1.25 times more frequently in the refugee Asian immigrants than in the non-refugee Asian immigrants. Comparison of the prevalence rates demonstrated that acute Pulmonary Tuberculosis confirmed bacteriologically occurred 3 times more frequently in the registered native Indian population of British Columbia than in the refugee immigrants to British Columbia. The extra public health risk of acute Pulmonary Tuberculosis from the presence of 10,000 refugee immigrants in British Columbia for one year was estimated to be 730 in 10⁶ for each member of the general population of British Columbia. The rate of acute Pulmonary Tuberculosis occurring in the 10,000 refugee immigrants arriving in British Columbia in 1979-1980 confirmed that the rescreening of the refugee immigrants was warranted. Recommendations were made to centralize the rescreening program within British Columbia so as to minimize the public health hazards of acute Pulmonary Tuberculosis occurring in the Southeast Asian refugee immigrants.Medicine, Faculty ofPopulation and Public Health (SPPH), School ofGraduat