Successful global TB control must address highly mobile populations, such as persons who are being deported, and requires multi-agency collaborations and support including partners outside the public health field.
A 2006 national shortage of anti-tuberculosis (TB) medications in Honduras provided a unique opportunity for the strengthening of transnational TB control partnerships. The Division of Immigration Health Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, local and state public health authorities in the U.S., TBNet, and the Honduras National TB Program coordinated special efforts to facilitate completion of treatment for TB disease in persons deported during treatment.
Tuberculosis treatment is complex and poses risks of adverse medication effects and the development of drug resistance should the patient’s treatment be interrupted or not completed. Detained TB patients were repatriated with a supply of medications transferred directly to Honduran TB control authorities allowing for treatment completion while ensuring appropriate supervision.
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