Pulmonary tuberculosis screening in emigrants and travellers: A retrospective analysis of Guangzhou Port in China

Background China is beginning to transform from a migrant exporting country to a migrant importing country. Our study aimed to assess risks of imported tuberculosis among travellers and to determine risk factors, to tailor institutional guidelines. Methods We conducted an observational, retrospective, population-based cohort study. Molecular epidemiology surveillance methods were used to screen travellers for cases of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) at Guangzhou Port in China from January 2010 to December 2016. Results A total of 165,369 travellers from 190 countries and regions were screened for PTB. The rate of suspected PTB, laboratory confirmed rate, and the total detection rate in emigrants were significantly higher than those in travellers (p Conclusions PTB screening process in travellers at ports should include a risk assessment of high-risk groups. It should reduce diagnosis time by rapid molecular detection methods and strengthen drug resistant (DR) transmission and monitoring of imported PTB strains through molecular genotyping at ports.