Voluntary TB screening begins at Bukit Merah
Preventive measure comes after 7 people at one block were diagnosed with the disease
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Nisha Rahim
Residents and business owners in Block 2 Jalan Bukit Merah trickled in for voluntary tuberculosis (TB) screening yesterday, with those who turned up saying they were not alarmed about the situation.
When The Straits Times visited Queenstown Hock San Zone Residents' Committee Centre at 9am, a queue of more than 10 people had already formed, but the crowd thinned out before 1pm.
The free screening - which will be available until Tuesday - is provided by the Ministry of Health (MOH), which is taking the preventive measure after seven people were diagnosed with TB at Block 2 between February last year and March this year.
TB is an infectious disease caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria that affects the lungs primarily.
Investigations by MOH found that the seven cases have a similar genetic make-up, suggesting the cases are linked to at least one common source.
But the seven individuals did not know or interact with one another, nor did they identify each other as close contacts.
The screening - which involves an interview to assess symptoms, a blood test and a chest X-ray - is done to identify any existing TB cases and refer these people for treatment, MOH said.
Ms Connie Ang, 53, a chef who has lived in Block 2 for about two decades, said: "It's comparable with the Covid-19 situation; there is no point worrying. I mean, we are living in the block which happened (to have TB patients). Just take it easy and go for the screening as recommended."
Madam Pauline Wong, a 67-year-old housewife who was one of the first in line for screening, said: "I just came down to the centre to get screened rather than wait for them to come to my house."
Aside from the centre, seven mobile teams have been deployed to go to homes and carry out the screening.
The Straits Times followed one such team yesterday, which comprised three employees from the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.
Retiree Boh Pin Lee, 67, applauded the move as it makes the process "more convenient".
Ms Doreen Tan, 53, who has been operating a mobile phone repair shop in Block 7 for more than 20 years, said there is a misconception that everyone in Bukit Merah has to turn up for the screening, with her friends and family urging her to comply.
She said: "I tell them there's nothing to be worried about, especially when I don't have to go for the screening since my shop is at Block 7, which is far away."
MOH has said that TB is endemic in Singapore. The disease, which was prevalent until the 1970s, is curable.
