Lithuania: migrant health guide
Advice and guidance on the health needs of migrant patients from Lithuania 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 Lithuania.
Ascertain any risk factors for hepatitis B, particularly among those who have recently arrived. Lithuania has a low prevalence.
Consider screening for hepatitis C, because Lithuania has a considerably higher prevalence than the UK.
Ask 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.
Consider nutritional and metabolic concerns.
Find out more about children’s health.
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 (TB)
The incidence of TB in Lithuania 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 Pakistan 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 (STIs) and HIV
Take a sexual history, and:
- screen for STIs and HIV according to risk as specified in the UK national standards and guidelines
- test all sexually active patients under the age of 25 for chlamydia
Lithuania has a low rate of HIV (≤1%), so:
- offer and recommend a HIV test if the patient:
- falls into a high risk group
- is newly registering in a high prevalence area
- be advised that national guidelines do not recommend routine consideration of HIV testing of infants and children who have recently arrived in the UK
Hepatitis B
Lithuania has a high 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
Lithuania has a considerably higher prevalence of hepatitis C than the UK, so consider screening for hepatitis C if other risk factors apply.
Travel plans and advice
Ask 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 Lithuania, so:
- ensure that travellers to Lithuania 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 Lithuania
Women’s health
Reproductive health indicators
| Reproductive health indicator | UK | Lithuania |
|---|---|---|
| Children per woman¹ | 2 | 1 |
¹lifetime average
No data is available on:
- contraceptive use
- mammography screening rates
- cervical cancer screening rates
Find out more about women’s health.
Nutritional and metabolic concerns
Anaemia
There is a low risk of anaemia in adults (estimated prevalence is 5 to 20%) and a moderate risk in 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 Lithuania.
Iodine
People from the Lithuania 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 the Lithuania.
Culture, politics and history
BBC News and The World Factbook provide background information on the culture, politics and history of Lithuania.
Languages
| Language | Population (%) |
|---|---|
| Lithuanian (official) | 8 |
| Russian | 12 |
| Polish | 5.6 |
| Other | 0.9 |
Source: The World Factbook.
Find out about language interpretation.
Religions
| Religion | Population (%)¹ |
|---|---|
| Roman Catholic | 77.2 |
| Russian Orthodox | 4.1 |
| Old Believer | 0.8 |
| Evangelical Lutheran | 0.6 |
| Evangelical Reformist | 0.2 |
| Other² | 0.8 |
| None | 6.1 |
| Unspecified | 10.1 |
¹2001 census; ²including Sunni Muslim, Jewish, Greek Catholic, and Karaite
Source: The World Factbook.
Migration to the UK
There were almost over 97,000 people from Lithuania living in England and Wales at the time of the 2011 Census.
Source: Office for National Statistics
Last updated 27 October 2017 + show all updates
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Updated and made editorial changes to meet GOV.UK style.
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First published.