TB scare as 2,000 inmates test positive

TB scare as 2,000 inmates test positive

Screenings extended to 3,000 prisoners

Female inmates yesterday wait to undergo tuberculosis (TB) screening at the central prison in Samut Prakan. (Photo by Somchai Poomlard)
Female inmates yesterday wait to undergo tuberculosis (TB) screening at the central prison in Samut Prakan. (Photo by Somchai Poomlard)

Samut Prakan: Thailand is pitting its forces against the spread of tuberculosis (TB) with the Justice Ministry joining the Public Health Ministry's anti-TB campaign after almost 2,000 new cases were found in prisons in July and August.

Under the campaign, almost 300,000 inmates will undergo TB screenings to ensure early detection and proper treatment.

The measure, which will be introduced at the nation's 143 prisons, aims to bolster Public Health Ministry efforts to control the disease and eradicate it by 2035.

Public Health Minister Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn said yesterday the TB situation domestically is now critical, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) ranking Thailand among 14 countries where TB is spreading at alarming speed.

About 120,000 new cases are detected here each year, with 13,800 dying annually.

The minister said resistance to drugs is another problem. Each year, 4,500 patients are found to be drug resistant, with treatment costs as high as 1.2 million baht per patient.

Only 60% of people suspected of contracting TB receive treatment, and only 80% of those are completely cured, he said. This is not enough to significantly reduce the rate at which the disease is spreading, he added.

Health authorities are directing efforts at inmates because their risk of contracting the disease is 10 times higher than other groups, Dr Piyasakol said at the campaign launch at the central prison in Samut Prakan.

He said TB screenings of inmates, which started some months ago, are proving successful. Chest X-rays and sputum cultures are also used in the diagnosis, he added.

Jedsada Chokdamrongsuk, director-general of the Department of Disease Control, said the number of inmates suffering from TB has now reached 1,500 per year. There are 282,816 inmates at 143 prisons nationwide.

TB screenings conducted from last October to June showed that 24,436 inmates may have contracted the disease, but only 1,934 of those cases have been confirmed until now.

Coincidentally, another 1,934 cases were found in July and August.

The spike in numbers underscores the need for more rigorously applied TB screenings and follow-up measures among inmates, Mr Jedsada said.

He said the total number of TB cases detected to be detected this year may reach 5,000.

"This also means patients will receive the proper treatment, which will effectively reduce the spread of TB," he said.

The joint campaign came after the cabinet on Tuesday approved a national strategic plan to fight TB.

One of the key measures is early detection of the disease, which is why advocates say the screenings should cast their net wider and cover more groups of people.

They also urge more research and development funding to prevent and control the disease.

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