For the first time in more than a decade, the rate at which residents in Singapore are contracting tuberculosis is on the rise.

And more younger people aged below 30 are being hit - a worrying trend that hints at greater spread of the infectious respiratory disease in the community.

Last year, 39.8 in every 100,000 Singaporeans and permanent residents contracted it, up from 35.1 in 2007.

The number of TB patients grew by 15 per cent to 1,451 last year, up from 1,256 in the previous year.

The last time the tuberculosis rate grew was in 1998, when it hit 57 per 100,000 residents. It had been declining since - until last year.

The Health Ministry released the update ahead of World Tuberculosis Day tomorrow.

The disease hit 9.2 million people and killed 1.7 million globally in 2006. It spreads through droplets exhaled by infected people, over a prolonged period.

About one in 10 of those who catch it develops the active form of the disease. Tuberculosis remains latent in the rest, but may be activated later when the immune system is weakened by ageing or other diseases like diabetes.

The surge here could be due to more people with the latent form developing the active one, the Health Ministry said.

Read the full story in today's edition of The Straits Times.