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Immigrant and Refugee Health

Communicable Disease


Tuberculosis

According to the WHO Tuberculosis Profile, Iraq reported 8,664 new cases of tuberculosis in 2012 and a prevalence of 73 cases per 100,000 population (27). Within Iraq, 180 new cases of multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis were confirmed as of 2012 27.

From 2008- 2013, 0.2% of Iraqi refugees arrived in the US with a TB class B1 which is TB fully treated using directly observed therapy, or abnormal chest x-ray with negative sputum smears and cultures, or extrapulmonary TB. Tuberculin skin tests (TST) are routinely performed on children aged 2-14 years and those with a positive TST are designated as TB class B2. Approximately 1% of children examined overseas had a positive TST from 2008-2013.

Infectious Hepatitis

While national-level data on hepatitis is limited, of 2,957 Iraqi refugees screened for hepatitis B in San Diego as part of the domestic medical examination, 21 (0.7%) were diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B virus infection, which is comparable with the national average of hepatitis B in Iraq 26.

HIV and Syphilis

The prevalence of HIV in Iraq is less than 1%, but reported cases have been increasing, especially in areas close to Baghdad (21). According to EDN, of ~91,000 US-bound Iraqi refugees screened from 2008 through 2013 as part of the visa medical exam, 0.1% tested positive for syphilis and were treated prior to arrival.

References

  1. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. UNHCR Iraq Fact Sheet. 2010. Accessed November 2013. http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486426.html
  2. Queensland Health Multicultural Services. Community Profiles for Healthcare Providers: Iraqi Australians. Queensland Health. [Online] July 8, 2011. [Cited: September 13, 2011.] www.health.qld.gov.au/multicultural.
  3. Giese, Amanda. An Assessment of the Health of Iraqi Refugees in Chicago. Heartland Alliance. 2010.
  4. Harper, Andrew. Iraq's Refugees: Ignored and Unwanted. 869, 2008, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 90, pp. 169-190.
  5. Doocy, Shannon, et al. Food Security and Humanitarian Assistance Among Displaced Iraqi Populations in Jordan and Syria. 2, 2011, Social Science & Medicine, Vol. 72, pp. 273-282.
  6. Ghareeb, Edmund, Ranard, Donald and Tutunji, Jenab. Refugees from Iraq: Their History, Cultures, and Background Experiences. Center for Applied Linguistics. 2008. COR Center Enhanced Refugee Backgrounder No. 1.
  7. Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children. Iraqi Refugee Women and Youth in Jordan: Reproductive Health Findings, A Snapshot from the Field. 2007.
  8. Taylor, Eboni et al. Physical and Mental Health Status of Iraqi Refugees Resettled in the United States.  Springer, Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, August, 2013. Web. August, 2013.
  9. Iraq Family Health Survey 2006/7 (World Health Organization). Accessed 2012, at http://www.emro.who.int/iraq/pdf/ifhs_report_en.pdf).rm
  10. Terrazas, Aaron. Iraqi Immigrants in the United States. Migration Information Source. [Online] March 5, 2009. [Cited: September 9, 2011.] http://www.migrationinformation.org/USfocus/display.cfm?id=721.
  11. O'Donnell, Kelly and Newland, Kathleen. The Iraqi Refugee Crisis: The Need for Action. Migration Policy Institute. 2008.
  12. Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Tips for Health Care Providers about Iraqi Refugees. 2010.
  13. Stratis Health. Iraqis in Minnesota. Stratis Health. [Online] 11 1, 2009. [Cited: September 13, 2011.] http://www.stratishealth.org.
  14. Saadi, Altaf, Bond, Barbara and Percac-Lima, Sanja. Perspectives on Preventive Health Care and Barriers to Breast Cancer Screening Among Iraqi Women Refugees. 2011, Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health. PMID 21901446 .
  15. IRC Commission on Iraqi Refugees. A Tough Road Home: Uprooted Iraqis in Jordan, Syria and Iraq. New York : International Rescue Committee, 2010.
  16. Frelick, Bill. "The Silent Treatment": Fleeing Iraq, Surviving in Jordan. [ed.] Peter Bouckhaert, Christoph Wilcke and Sarah Leah Whitson. Human Rights Watch. November 2006, Vol. 18, 10.
  17. Schinina, et al. Assessment on Psychosocial Needs of Iraqis Displaced in Jordan and Lebanon. International Organization for Migration. 2008.
  18. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012), Electronic Disease Notification System (EDN).
  19. US Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), Worldwide Refugee Admissions Processing System (WRAPS).
  20. Joint Appeal by UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, and WHO. Meeting the Health Needs of Iraqis Displaced in Neighbouring Countries. 2007.
  21. World Health Organization/UNICEF/Johns Hopkins University. The Health Status of the Iraqi Population in Jordan: 2009
  22. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; United Nations Children's Development Fund; World Food Program. Assessment on the Situation of Iraqi Refugees in Syria. 2006.
  23. Women's Refugee Commission. Baseline Study: Dcumenting Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Iraqi Refugees and the Status of Family Planning Services in UNHCR's Operations in Amman, Jordan. 2011.
  24. Chynoweth, Sarah. The Need for Priority Reproductive Health Services for Displaced Iraqi Women and Girls. 31, 2008, Reproductive Health Matters, Vol. 16, pp. 93-102.
  25. World Health Organization, Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO) website. Accessed September, 2012. http://www.emro.who.int/
  26. Ramos, M, et al. Health of Resettled Iraqi Refugees–San Diego County, California, October 2007-September 2009. 2010, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 59, pp. 1614-1618.
  27. World Health Organization. Tuberculosis Profile: Iraq. World Health Organization. [Online] January, 29th 2013. [Cited: January 29th, 2013] www.who.int/tb/data.
  28. Yanni, E, et al; The Health Profile and Chronic Diseases Comorbidities of US-Bound Iraqi Refugees Screened by the International Organization for Migration in Jordan: 2007–2009.    Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health; DOI 10.1007/s10903-012-9578-6
  29. World Health Organization. Non-Communicable Disease Profile: Iraq. World Health Organization. [Online] September 12, 2011. [Cited: September 12, 2011.] http://Infobase.who.int.
  30. International Rescue Committee. The Health of Refugees from Iraq. 2009. http://www.rescue.org/iraqi-refugees.
  31. Darwish-Yassine M, Wing D. Cancer epidemiology in Arab Americans and Arabs outside the Middle East. Ethn Dis. 2005;15 (1 Suppl 1):S1-5–S1-8.
  32. 32. Michigan Department of Community Health. Color me healthy: a profile of Michigan’s racial/ethnic populations, May 2008. 2011. Accessed on 22 Jan 2011 at http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdch/ColorMeHealthyProfileMay2008_2362457.pdf
  33. Shah SM, et al. Arab American Immigrants in New York: health care and cancer knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs. J Immigr Minor Health. 2008;10:429–36.
  34. Alhasnawi, Salih, et al. The prevalence and correlates of DSM-IV disorders in the Iraq Mental Health Survey (IMHS). 2, 2009, World Psychiatry, Vol. 8, pp. 97-109.
  35. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 2013 UNHCR country operations profile – Iraq. http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486426.html

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