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SINGAPORE – Current and former residents of Block 174D on Hougang Avenue 1 will be offered a voluntary tuberculosis test after a group is detected, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Saturday (October 24).
This is a precautionary measure after the detection of a group of four people diagnosed with tuberculosis residing in four different units in the block, said the Ministry of Health.
The test will take place free of charge at the Tuberculosis Control Unit on Moulmein Road starting October 26.
On October 10, the Ministry of Health was notified of four cases of tuberculosis that involved residents of the same block of the Housing Board, which were diagnosed between January 2018 and June of this year. The four individuals live in different units of Block 174D.
The Health Ministry noted that the cases had started treatment immediately after diagnosis. Two have completed treatment, while the other two are currently in treatment and are no longer infectious.
“As people diagnosed with tuberculosis will quickly become non-infectious once treatment begins, the cases are not an ongoing risk to public health,” the Ministry of Health said.
In accordance with its prevention strategy, contact investigations were initiated following notification of the four cases.
Close contacts of the cases had already been identified and contacted for screening. Investigations of each of the four cases at the time of their diagnosis did not identify each other as close contacts, the Health Ministry said.
“The group was later determined due to the results of genetic sequencing carried out in October as part of a retrospective test of tuberculosis cases to determine possible links,” added the Ministry of Health.
“This revealed that the four cases have a similar genetic makeup. Investigations of the cases did not reveal any common link, other than that they live in the same block. They did not know or interact with each other, nor did they congregate in the same common areas, and they had not identified each other as close contacts either. Therefore, the group does not fit the usual pattern of spread of tuberculosis. “
The Ministry of Health noted that tuberculosis is generally transmitted through close and prolonged contact with an infectious individual, and not by contact with items or surfaces touched by a person with tuberculosis.
Therefore, the people who are contacted and examined after detection of an infected individual generally comprise family members, close colleagues in the workplace, and acquaintances from common social activities with close and regular interaction.
“The expanded TB screening offered by the MOH is a precautionary measure to secure and protect residents who live in the same block. The exercise could help detect any undiagnosed cases,” the MOH said.
“While screening is not mandatory, the Ministry of Health strongly encourages residents to get screened. People with positive screening tests will be offered appropriate counseling and follow-up. People with active tuberculosis will be treated immediately, while those with latent non-infectious tuberculosis will be monitored and treated if necessary. “
The Health Ministry also noted that the risk of transmission to people who are not close contacts of a case is very low, meaning that screening is also not necessary for people who have occasionally visited the block or surroundings.
Officers from the Tuberculosis Control Unit and the National Center for Infectious Diseases will also conduct home visits to all units in the affected block between October 25 and 27 to engage affected residents and encourage them to test for detection.
Residents will be able to schedule screening appointments during home visits. Residents who are not home at the time of the visit can call the Tuberculosis Control Unit to schedule an appointment for screening.
Former residents who have lived on the block since February this year and want to be screened can call the Tuberculosis Control Unit hotline at 6248-4430.
The Ministry of Health noted that tuberculosis is endemic in Singapore and latent infection is not uncommon in the population, as the condition had been prevalent in Singapore until the 1970s and older Singaporeans may have been exposed to and acquired infection from latent tuberculosis when they were younger.
Those with latent TB experience no symptoms and are not infectious.
Tuberculosis is also curable.
“Early detection and timely treatment of cases remain important to help those infected and make them non-infectious. For people diagnosed with active tuberculosis, adherence to treatment is important,” said the Ministry of Health.
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