He said about 23,000 TB cases had been reported each year for the last several years, mostly involving senior citizens and those with chronic problems like diabetes and low immunity.
“There are foreigners who enter the country illegally and do not undergo the mandatory screening process mandated in the country of their origin and Malaysia. This poses a high risk as 13% of the cases are foreigners.
“This is why my ministry is carrying out an intensive screening process on the groups at risk using X-rays,” he told reporters here today.
Subramaniam said the eX-pert, machine, which was capable of detecting Drug-Resistant Tb fast, had been supplied to selected hospitals while mobile X-ray clinics were being employed in rural areas in Sabah and Sarawak to detect the disease for remedial action.
His comments come in the wake of 11 students of Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) Taiping coming down with TB since June last year.
Subramaniam added that the students, eight boys and three girls, were receiving treatment and that the ministry was also screening the other 257 students in the school.
“At the same time, we are also carrying out a probe as to why TB surfaced in this junior college. We are advising the school to take precautionary measures to prevent spread to other students,” he said.