KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 — Close to half of foreign workers who underwent medical tests last year are infected with the contagious airborne disease tuberculosis (TB), the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has said.
Local daily The Star reported today MMA president Dr H. Krishna Kumar as saying that illegal foreign workers who do not go for medical screenings are the biggest factor behind the rise in TB cases, noting that medical tests found last year that 17,981 foreign workers are infected with TB, or 47 per cent of those tested.
“Those who know they are ill and cannot come in through the legal channel will choose to come in illegally,” Dr Krishna told The Star yesterday.
“Because those who come in illegally are not screened, they are walking around and spreading the diseases to people here and this is very frightening,” he added.
Malaysia has an estimated six million foreign workers, out of which 2.9 million are legally registered, the National Professors Council (MPN) said last December.
It is believed that there is one illegal immigrant for every documented migrant worker in the country, though both the police and MPN stress that it is difficult to come to a conclusive number due to the elusive nature of illegal immigrants.
Dr Krishna reportedly said although most Malaysians are vaccinated against TB, those with chronic diseases like dengue or severe diabetes are more susceptible to the bacterial infection that usually affects the lungs.
TB is spread through sneezes and coughs in close quarters. The disease is deadly if it is left untreated.
“If a group of legal and illegal foreign workers are staying in close proximity, the legal workers are exposed as well. And they are in contact with the rest of the country’s workforce,” Dr Krishna said.
