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. 2021:4:100056.
doi: 10.1016/j.jmh.2021.100056. Epub 2021 Jun 16.

SARS-CoV-2 among migrants and forcibly displaced populations: A rapid systematic review

Maren Hintermeier  1 , Hande Gencer  2 , Katja Kajikhina  3   4 , Sven Rohleder  1   5 , Claudia Hövener  3 , Marie Tallarek  6 , Jacob Spallek  6 , Kayvan Bozorgmehr  1   5
Affiliations

SARS-CoV-2 among migrants and forcibly displaced populations: A rapid systematic review

Maren Hintermeier et al. J Migr Health. 2021.

Abstract

The economic and health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic pose a particular threat to vulnerable groups, such as migrants, particularly forcibly displaced populations. The aim of this review is (i) to synthesize the evidence on risk of infection and transmission among migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced populations, and (ii) the effect of lockdown measures on these populations. We searched MEDLINE and WOS, preprint servers, and pertinent websites between 1st December 2019 and 26th June 2020. The included studies showed a high heterogeneity in study design, population, outcome and quality. The incidence risk of SARS-CoV-2 varied from 0•12% to 2•08% in non-outbreak settings and from 5•64% to 21•15% in outbreak settings. Migrants showed a lower hospitalization rate compared to non-migrants. Negative impacts on mental health due to lockdown measures were found across respective studies. However, findings show a tenuous and heterogeneous data situation, showing the need for more robust and comparative study designs.

Keywords: Asylum seekers; COVID-19; Forcibly displaced; Migrants; Refugees; SARS-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

The work has been conducted in the scope of the German Competence Net Public Health Covid-19. The authors state that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1:
Fig. 1
PRISMA Flow-Chart.
Fig. 2:
Fig. 2
Forest plot of incidence risks (in %). Legend: Bojorquez et al. (szenario 1): Population of asylum seekers waiting to submit their asylum application in April 2020 (Leutert et al., 2020); Bojorquez et al. (szenario 2): Population refers to the number of cases in the United States immigration courts assigned to the MPP program from March 2019 to March 2020 (TRAC 2019); Trulove et al. (scenario 1): Basic reproduction number R0= 1∙5–2∙0; Trulove et al. (scenario 2): Basic reproduction number R0= 2∙0–3∙0; Trulove et al. (scenario 3): Basic reproduction number R0= 3∙3–5∙0; Hariri et al.*: Camp-population scenario with a very fast doubling rate of 2∙3 days; Irvine et al.*: Only data from most optimistic scenario extracted (R0=2∙5). Y-axis: percentage (%). ES: estimate of incidence proportion.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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