Demographic Control Measure Implications of Tuberculosis Infection for Migrant Workers across Taiwan Regions

Szu-Chieh Chen, Tzu-Yun Wang, Hsin-Chieh Tsai, Chi-Yun Chen, Tien-Hsuan Lu, Yi-Jun Lin, Shu-Han You, Ying-Fei Yang and Chung-Min Liao ()
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Szu-Chieh Chen: Department of Public Health, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 40201, Taiwan
Tzu-Yun Wang: Department of Public Health, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 40201, Taiwan
Hsin-Chieh Tsai: Department of Public Health, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 40201, Taiwan
Chi-Yun Chen: Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
Tien-Hsuan Lu: Department of Environmental Engineering, Da-Yeh University, Changhua 515006, Taiwan
Yi-Jun Lin: Institute of Food Safety and Health Risk Assessment, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan
Shu-Han You: Institute of Food Safety and Risk Management, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung City 20224, Taiwan
Ying-Fei Yang: Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
Chung-Min Liao: Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 16, 1-16

Abstract: A sharp increase in migrant workers has raised concerns for TB epidemics, yet optimal TB control strategies remain unclear in Taiwan regions. This study assessed intervention efforts on reducing tuberculosis (TB) infection among migrant workers. We performed large-scale data analyses and used them to develop a control-based migrant worker-associated susceptible–latently infected–infectious–recovered (SLTR) model. We used the SLTR model to assess potential intervention strategies such as social distancing, early screening, and directly observed treatment, short-course (DOTS) for TB transmission among migrant workers and locals in three major hotspot cities from 2018 to 2023. We showed that social distancing was the best single strategy, while the best dual measure was social distancing coupled with early screening. However, the effectiveness of the triple strategy was marginally (1–3%) better than that of the dual measure. Our study provides a mechanistic framework to facilitate understanding of TB transmission dynamics between locals and migrant workers and to recommend better prevention strategies in anticipation of achieving WHO’s milestones by the next decade. Our work has implications for migrant worker-associated TB infection prevention on a global scale and provides a knowledge base for exploring how outcomes can be best implemented by alternative control measure approaches.

Keywords: tuberculosis; migrant worker; transmission dynamics; modeling; control measures (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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