Hospitals such as the National University Hospital (NUH) are stepping up efforts to combat the scourge of latent tuberculosis (TB), in which people, usually aged 50 and over, unknowingly are carriers of an inactive form of the disease.
Two in three of new cases reported among Singapore residents last year were aged 50 and over, the Health Ministry said yesterday (23 Mar) in an update on the TB situation here.
The number of new cases – 1,536 – was slightly lower than the 1,617 reported in the previous year. Most of the new cases involved males and included some children.
TB is an airborne disease that usually affects the lungs, and can also affect other body parts like the brain, lymph nodes, kidneys and bones. It can be cured with medication taken over a period of six to nine months.
While most people exposed to TB bacteria do not become infected, those who do will develop latent TB which is not infectious. But as they grow older, or when their immunity weakens, latent TB can turn into infectious active TB. The symptoms include a persistent cough, fever and chest pain.
NUH has in recent years moved to have patients with weakened immune systems undergo routine latent TB screening. They included those undergoing bone marrow and liver transplants, as well as those about to take drugs for different types of arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis.
The screening, which began more than five years ago, was extended to patients with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in August 2017 after a hospital study found that TB could have been prevented in up to 40% of cases by sending these people for screening.
“Preventive therapy given for latent TB would significantly decrease the progression to active TB, which can be fatal as it infects the brain, causing strokes and significant morbidity,” said Dr Catherine Ong, a consultant at NUH’s division of infectious diseases.
Those warded at Tan Tock Seng Hospital’s TB Control Unit are usually of lower socio-economic status and have little family and social support during their six-to nine-month stay, said Dr Cynthia Chee, director of the unit. “Having people come to visit them will go a long way in their treatment journey,” she added, referring to volunteers who have been bringing cheer to TB patients for the past two years.
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Source: The Straits Times, 24 March 2018