Geographical distribution and migratory history of patients in the Kabul tuberculosis center, Afganistan

—Influence of migration on tuberculosis epidemiology in the city of Kabul—

Abstract

The geographical distribution and migratory history were surveyed in July 1978 on 648 new patients visiting the Kabul Tuberculosis Center (KTC), the main health institution in Kabul City for tuberculosis control, for clinical examination and on the selected 130 tuberculosis patients under treatment in KTC. Analysis has shown that people were visiting KTC for clinical examination from nearly all the provinces in Afghanistan. It has also indicated that the proportion of the immigrants among the tuberculosis patients from Kabul City who were under treatment in KTC was significantly greater than that of the total population of Kabul City, while this proportionamong the new patients from Kabul City coincided with that of the total population. This may suggest the higher prevalence of tuberculosis among the immigrants than among the natives of Kabul City.