Bedok screening completed: 1 case identified with active TB so far, will be non-infectious after treatment

One person has been diagnosed with active tuberculosis (TB) so far after the completion of the screening exercise at Bedok Central, the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) said on Tuesday (May 19).

He has started treatment and is doing well, and will be non-infectious upon completing two weeks of treatment. Contact tracing is underway to identify and evaluate his close contacts, the agency said.

The screening exercise was conducted for tenants, workers, and those who frequent Heartbeat@Bedok, Block 216 Bedok Food Centre & Market, and Singapore Pools Bedok Betting Centre.

Some 3,525 people participated in screening since May 2, with 3,016 (85.6 per cent) of them testing negative.

The remaining 509 (14.4 per cent) had a positive blood test result and needed a follow-up chest X-ray to determine if they have active TB or latent TB infection (LTBI).

As at Tuesday, 447 of these cases have gone for the X-ray, and one man was identified to have active TB.

Another 42 people who attended the follow-up X-ray will undergo further evaluation at the National Tuberculosis Care Centre as a precautionary measure.

"They may not have active TB disease but have minor abnormalities on their chest X-ray," the authority said. 

CDA said earlier in May that the "vast majority" of follow-up cases are expected to have LTBI, which means they have inactive TB bacteria in their body, but are neither sick nor infectious.

In line with expectations, the X-ray results for the remaining 404 persons were normal, which suggests that these people may have previous infections or LTBI.

The authority stated that the active TB disease and latent TB infection rates detected from the Bedok screening are "within expectations".

There were 1,156 new cases of active TB disease among Singapore residents in 2024, an incidence rate of 27.6 cases per 100,000 residents.

"LTBI is not uncommon in our population, with rates of up to 30 per cent in the older age groups," CDA added.

TB screening and further tests will continue to be offered for free until June 5.

"With everyone playing their part, we can ensure that persons diagnosed with TB are treated effectively and reduce community transmission of TB in Singapore," CDA added.

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com