Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Hilmi Yahaya said the foreigners disappeared because they were afraid of being sent home once the ministry lodged a report about their disease with the Immigration Department.

“A total of 12.3 per cent of TB cases last year involved foreign nationals,” said Dr Hilmi when answering a supplementary question from Fuziah Salleh (PKR-Kuantan) on the link between foreign nationals and TB cases at the Dewan Rakyat here, today.

“When they (foreigners) disappear, they will infect others around them too. This is the problem we are facing,” he said.

Dr Hilmi said foreigners diagnosed with TB would be treated for six months to ensure they were free of the disease.

He said legitimate foreign workers to Malaysia must undergo health screening in their own country first before undergoing another one here, and were not allowed to work here if they were found to suffer from the disease.

Dr Hilmi said the number of TB cases in the country had risen to 24,220 in 2015 from 10,800 in 1990, up 124 per cent in 25 years.

The government was committed towards eradicating TB via the National Strategic Plan For Tuberculosis Control 2012–2017, with detection and early treatment as the main strategies.

He said 549,288 patients at the Outpatient Department who had symptoms of TB underwent a phlegm examination in 2015.

Chest X-rays were also conducted on high risk groups such as those in contact with TB sufferers, diabetics, those with HIV, senior citizens, smokers and those with chronic lung ailments.

A total 275,972 high risk groups were screened with chest X-rays and 3,039 TB cases were detected last year, he added.