Russia: migrant health guide
Advice and guidance on the health needs of migrant patients from Russia for healthcare practitioners.
Main messages
If the patient is new to the UK:
- explain to them how the NHS works
- discuss how this compares to the healthcare system they’ve been used to
Ensure that all patients are up-to-date with the UK immunisation schedule.
Screen all new entrants (including children) for tuberculosis (TB).
There is a high burden of multi drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Russia.
Offer and recommend an HIV test to all adults from Russia and consider offering an HIV test to infants and children who have recently arrived in the UK.
Offer to all sexually active individuals:
- a full sexual health screen
- safer sex health promotion advice
Consider screening for hepatitis B, particularly among those who have recently arrived. Russia has an intermediate prevalence.
Consider screening for hepatitis C, because Russia has a considerably higher prevalence than the UK.
Ask opportunistically about any travel plans the patient may have to visit friends and relatives in their country of origin, and see National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC), or the Health Protection Scotland websites (TRAVAX and fitfortravel), for travel advice.
There is a risk of typhoid infection in Russia.
Consider nutritional and metabolic concerns.
Infectious diseases
Immunisation
Ensure that all patients, especially children, are up-to-date with the UK immunisation schedule. See Immunisation collection with complete schedules.
Tuberculosis
The incidence of TB in Russia is high (40 to 499 cases per 100,000), and there is also a high burden of MDR-TB, so:
- screen all new entrants, including children, for TB according to NICE guidelines
- refer to TB services promptly if screening is positive
- seek advice, if you are a local TB service, from the MDR-TB Clinical Advice Service before treating patients from Russia for TB
- maintain long term vigilance for symptoms of TB even if initial screening is negative
- be aware that TB is a notifiable disease
Sexually transmitted infections and HIV
There is a high rate of HIV in Russia (>1%), so:
- offer and recommend an HIV test according to UK national testing guidelines
- consider offering an HIV test to infants and children who have recently arrived in the UK according to UK national testing guidelines
Be advised that although recent global data on STIs are not available, countries with high HIV rates tend to have higher rates of STIs and the range of STIs encountered in Russia may vary from those in the UK, so offer to sexually active individuals:
- a full sexual health screen
- safer sex health promotion advice by referral to local genito-urinary medicine services
Hepatitis B
Russia has an intermediate prevalence of hepatitis B, so:
- consider screening for hepatitis B, particularly those who have recently arrived
- offer screening for hepatitis B to all pregnant women during each pregnancy
- immunise appropriately babies born to mothers who are hepatitis B positive, and follow-up accordingly
- be aware that the UK has a universal infant immunisation programme for hepatitis B and a selective immunisation programme for higher risk groups
Hepatitis C
Russia has a considerably higher prevalence of hepatitis C than the UK, so consider screening for hepatitis C.
Travel plans and advice
Ask opportunistically about any travel plans the patient may have to visit friends and relatives in their country of origin, and see National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC), or the Health Protection Scotland websites (TRAVAX and fitfortravel), for travel advice.
Typhoid
There is a risk of typhoid infection in Russia, so:
- ensure that travellers to Russia are offered typhoid immunisation and advice on prevention of enteric fever
- remember enteric fever in the differential diagnosis of illness in patients with a recent history of travel to-or-from Russia
Women’s health
Reproductive health indicators
| Reproductive health indicator | UK | Russia |
|---|---|---|
| Number of children per woman¹ | 2 | 1 |
| Breast examination or mammography² | 75% | 19% |
| Cervical cancer screening³ | 70% | 78% |
¹lifetime average; ²women aged 50 to 69 years; ³women aged 20 to 69 years
No data are available on:
- contraceptive use
Nutritional and metabolic concerns
Anaemia
There is a moderate risk of anaemia in people from Russia (estimated prevalence in non-pregnant women is 20 to 40%) and pre-school children (estimated prevalence is 20 to 40%), so:
- be alert to the possibility of anaemia in recently arrived migrants, particularly women and pre-school children
- test as clinically indicated
Vitamin D
Consider the possibility of vitamin D deficiency in people who may be at risk due to:
- covering their body for cultural or religious reasons (lack of sunlight)
- skin colour
- diet (vegan or vegetarian)
Vitamin A
There is a risk of vitamin A deficiency in Russia.
Iodine
People from Russia may be at risk of mild iodine deficiency due to inadequate intake.
Country profile
Health indicators and health care
WHO Global Health Observatory has a summary of health indicators and health care in Russia.
Culture, politics and history
BBC News and The World Factbook provide background information on the culture, politics and history of Russia.
Languages
| Language | Population (%) |
|---|---|
| Russian (official) | 96.3 |
| Dolgang | 5.3 |
| German | 1.5 |
| Tatar | 3 |
| Other | 10.3 |
| Chechen | 1 |
Source: The World Factbook
Religions
| Religion | Population (%) |
|---|---|
| Russian Orthodox | 15-20 |
| Muslim | 10-15 |
| Other Christian | 2 |
Source: The World Factbook
Migration to the UK
There were almost 37,000 people from Russia living in England and Wales at the time of the 2011 Census.
Source: Office for National Statistics
Updates to this page
Published 31 July 2014Last updated 7 June 2019 + show all updates
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Updated HIV guidance to high HIV prevalence (>1%) to reflect latest UNAIDS data.
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First published.