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[h=2]S’pore TB rates rise for 5th straight year[/h]
March 26th, 2013 |
Author: Editorial
The Ministry of Health (MOH) released a statement yesterday (25 Mar) revealing that there were 1,560 new tuberculosis (TB) cases among residents last year.
TB has been on the rise for five consecutive years in Singapore. There were 1,533 TB cases among residents in 2011 and 1,478 in 2010.
The number of TB cases involving non-residents (foreigners on longer-term stay for work, study or visit) was 643 cases last year compared to 593 in 2011 and 550 in 2010. This represents an increase of 8.4% for foreign cases last year compared to 7.8% the previous year.
MOH said the upward trend is due to global travel coupled with continued transmission in the community.
It also said the threat of a multi-drug resistant form of TB (MDR-TB) “remains a serious public health challenge”. MDR-TB is resistant to the two most powerful anti-TB drugs – isoniazid and rifampicin, and is more complicated to treat. 8 cases (2 were foreigners) were reported last year compared to 6 (3 were foreigners) in 2011. In 2010, there were only 3 such cases.
Normal TB takes about 6 months to be cured but MDR-TB may take years.
As can be seen from the graph below, the number of TB cases actually fell in the decade from 1998 to 2007. After 2007, the number started to increase and has been increasing for the last five years:
Interestingly, this increase in the number of new TB cases reported is in tandem with the rise in number of non-residents (foreigners on longer-term stay for work, study or visit) entering Singapore over the same period in the last five years after 2007:
In a report last year, Professor Sonny Wang, director of the TB Control Unit at Tan Tock Seng Hospital said that the surge in TB cases locally might stem from foreigners spreading it here. The MOH is currently reviewing the situation.
.
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The Ministry of Health (MOH) released a statement yesterday (25 Mar) revealing that there were 1,560 new tuberculosis (TB) cases among residents last year.
TB has been on the rise for five consecutive years in Singapore. There were 1,533 TB cases among residents in 2011 and 1,478 in 2010.
The number of TB cases involving non-residents (foreigners on longer-term stay for work, study or visit) was 643 cases last year compared to 593 in 2011 and 550 in 2010. This represents an increase of 8.4% for foreign cases last year compared to 7.8% the previous year.
MOH said the upward trend is due to global travel coupled with continued transmission in the community.
It also said the threat of a multi-drug resistant form of TB (MDR-TB) “remains a serious public health challenge”. MDR-TB is resistant to the two most powerful anti-TB drugs – isoniazid and rifampicin, and is more complicated to treat. 8 cases (2 were foreigners) were reported last year compared to 6 (3 were foreigners) in 2011. In 2010, there were only 3 such cases.
Normal TB takes about 6 months to be cured but MDR-TB may take years.
As can be seen from the graph below, the number of TB cases actually fell in the decade from 1998 to 2007. After 2007, the number started to increase and has been increasing for the last five years:

Interestingly, this increase in the number of new TB cases reported is in tandem with the rise in number of non-residents (foreigners on longer-term stay for work, study or visit) entering Singapore over the same period in the last five years after 2007:

In a report last year, Professor Sonny Wang, director of the TB Control Unit at Tan Tock Seng Hospital said that the surge in TB cases locally might stem from foreigners spreading it here. The MOH is currently reviewing the situation.
.
Join our TRE facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/TREmeritus