Setting: Tuberculosis (TB) has decreased substantially in New York City (NYC), but progress has slowed in recent years. Continued declines will require novel approaches tailored to foreign-born populations.
Objective: To describe TB epidemiology among the Mexico-born population of NYC to inform interventions in this community.
Design: The study included NYC patients with TB disease identified from 2001 to 2014. Incidence rates were compared by country of birth groupings. Demographic and patient characteristics were analyzed for all Mexico-born TB patients. Patients were compared by Mycobacterium bovis vs. non-M. bovis TB strain. Culture-confirmed patients were compared by genotype clustering status.
Results: From 2001 to 2014, 621 Mexico-born TB patients were identified in NYC. TB rates were significantly higher among Mexico-born vs. US-born persons every year. Mexico-born patients had lived in the United States for a median 7 years at diagnosis. The geographic distribution of Mexico-born TB patients was similar to that of the total Mexico-born population. Overall, 71% of patients reported previous employment; 52% of non-M. bovis patients were clustered based on genotyping results.
Conclusions: Our results provide a foundation to inform future interventions in the Mexico-born population. Additional work is needed to explore possible local TB transmission and health care-seeking practices.