Infectious diseases in immigrants from the perspective of a tropical medicine referral unit

Immigrants from less developed countries to Europe are growing in number and could contribute to the emergence of some infectious diseases. To address this issue, we conducted a descriptive study of 988 immigrants, of whom 79.9% were sub-Saharan Africans and 72% were of undocumented origin. Fever, pruritus, eosinophilia, visceromegaly, and anemia were more frequent in Africans, while a cough was more common Latin Americans (P < 0.005). The most frequent diagnoses were previous hepatitis B (46.5%), latent tuberculosis (44.2%), filariasis (24.8%), infection with intestinal helminths (15.4%), malaria (15.1%), infection with intestinal protozoa (10%), hepatitis C (8.8%), other non-parasitic infections (7.8%), active hepatitis B (7.6%), sexually transmitted diseases (7.5%), active tuberculosis (5.8%), and infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (5.2%). Past and active hepatitis B and C, active tuberculosis, infection with HIV, malaria, and filariasis were more frequent in Africans (P < 0.005). Thirty-two other tropical diseases were also diagnosed.