TY - JOUR T1 - Prevalence of latent TB infection among asylum seekers in emergency accommodation in Cologne, Germany JF - ERJ Open Research JO - erjor DO - 10.1183/23120541.00067-2019 VL - 5 IS - 2 SP - 00067-2019 AU - Florian Neuhann AU - Natalie Funke AU - Anne Bunte AU - Claudia Beiersmann Y1 - 2019/04/01 UR - http://openres.ersjournals.com/content/5/2/00067-2019.abstract N2 - German legislation for asylum seeking and infection prevention and control requires asylum seekers to undergo mandatory screening for active tuberculosis (TB) on entry [1, 2]. However, there is no routine screening for latent TB infection (LTBI). Systematic data on LTBI among this population are lacking, although the risk of progression from latent to active TB is higher among migrant populations [3, 4]. Therefore, this population has to be seen as vulnerable for the development of active TB.∼12% of male asylum seekers from multiple countries were diagnosed with LTBI. Systematic documentation and reporting of LTBI, access to chemopreventive therapy, and early diagnosis of active TB are highly recommended for this vulnerable group. http://ow.ly/dVTp30onmaRWe acknowledge the contribution of Anke Fischer, Municipal Health Office Cologne, Department for Infections, Diseases Prevention and Hygiene, who performed and documented the contact examinations including blood draws; Peter Stephany, Municipal Health Office Cologne, Department for Infections, Diseases Prevention and Hygiene, for his useful comments on the manuscript; Gerd Wiesmüller, Municipal Health Office Cologne, Department for Infections, Diseases Prevention and Hygiene, for the support through his department. We thank Julia Chalinor, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA, for editing the manuscript. ER -