Countries with high occurrence of tuberculosis

Tuberculosis incidence per 100 000 population per year (WHO 2017)

People from countries with a high occurrence of tuberculosis are obliged to undergo tuberculosis testing if they intend to stay more than three months in Norway, and their children will be offered BCG vaccination. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health maintains the list over which countries are considered to be high occurrence countries. From March 2017, there is a distinction between high and very high occurrence to help target screening for latent tuberculosis.

What does "high occurrence" mean?

According to the Norwegian regulations for tuberculosis control, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health must state which countries have a high occurrence of tuberculosis.

The list of countries with high occurrence is based on estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO), resistance evaluation and data on incidence in Norway. The list was last last updated in December 2018.

Since March 2017, there is a distinction between high and very high occurrence of tuberculosis. Occurrence of over 200 cases per 100,000 inhabitants is considered to be very high. A few additional countries are included in this group because of high incidence in Norway. The reason for the change is that the test for latent tuberculosis (IGRA) among young adults is being limited to only include new arrivals from countries with very high occurrence.

Obligatory tuberculosis testing

These people are required to undergo tuberculosis testing:

• People arriving from countries with high occurrence if they intend to stay for more than three months in Norway. Children will be offered BCG vaccination.
• All refugees and asylum seekers, even if they come from countries that are not on the list of high occurrence countries. 

Alphabetical list of countries with high and very high occurrence

The table gives an alphabetical overview of countries with high and very high occurrence, updated 11.12.2018. The countries with very high occurrence are marked in bold.