KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 — Ten new tuberculosis (TB) clusters have been detected in seven states as of last Saturday, with Johor recording the highest number at 37 cases, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
The Johor cases involve 29 children and eight adults, with the index case in one cluster traced to a 72-year-old woman in Kota Tinggi.
36 of the cases were identified through active testing and contact tracing by Health Ministry (MOH) officers in the community.
“As of February 7, we have identified 903 close contacts who underwent TB screening. Symptomatic individuals were immediately treated at MOH facilities,” he said during the Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Dr Dzulkefly added that all the cases have started treatment and are being monitored daily under Directly Observed Therapy at nearby health facilities.
He was responding to Kuala Langat MP Datuk Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi's query about the latest status of TB clusters by state, the number of active cases under monitoring, and the screening and control measures in place to prevent further spread.
The minister reported that Selangor recorded the second-highest number of TB cases in the country, with 10 cases across four clusters.
Sabah recorded five cases from one cluster; Pahang, four cases from one cluster; and Kedah, Kelantan, and Perlis, two cases each from one cluster.
Dr Dzulkefly said that the MOH is conducting symptom screenings for prolonged cough, fever, loss of appetite, sudden weight loss, and clinical lung examinations.
Replying to Dr Yunus' follow-up query on the effectiveness of immunisation in preventing TB, he said that herd immunity through the National Immunisation Programme has reached nearly 99 per cent of children.
Over the past four years, immunisation has effectively protected infants from TB, among nearly 500,000 births registered each year.
