Genetic profile of tuberculosis among the migrant population in Fujian Province, China.

ABSTRACT

SETTING: The Fujian District in China has a high migrant worker population. Although tuberculosis (TB) among migrants is a serious threat to public health in Fujian, little is known about the molecular characteristics of TB isolates in this population. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the genetic profile of TB among the migrant population in Fujian. RESULTS: Our study enrolled 243 pulmonary TB patients registered in Fujian. Our data demonstrated that the Beijing genotype was the most common genotype in Fujian, and that the proportion of migrants with the Beijing genotype was significantly higher than that of permanent residents. Furthermore, the population structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains in Fujian was diverse, with no difference in the distribution of mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units-variable number of tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR) subgroups between the migrant and permanent populations. In addition, the discriminatory power of MIRU-VNTR in this study was higher than that found in other regions of China, possibly due to the high percentage of migrants in Fujian. CONCLUSION: The Beijing genotype was the predominant genotype in Fujian. TB strains isolated from this migrant population revealed a genetic profile similar to that of the permanent population. Improvement in public medical and insurance programmes for migrants might be crucial in the effective control of TB in Fujian.