▲ Tuberculosis screening for foreign workers

The Chungcheongnam-do Province is strengthening the management of tuberculosis among foreign workers starting this year. This includes providing support for tuberculosis screening and treatment to eradicate cases of domestic transmission of tuberculosis by foreigners.

According to the province on the 10th, the percentage of foreigners among new tuberculosis patients in the province over the past 5 years was 71 out of 1122 cases (6.3%) in 2019, 71 out of 1019 cases (7.0%) in 2020, 78 out of 860 cases (9.1%) in 2021, 57 out of 842 cases (6.8%) in 2022, and 67 out of 852 cases (7.9%) in 2023.

These figures are higher than the national average rates of 1287 out of 23,821 cases (5.4%) in 2019, 1076 out of 19,933 cases (5.4%) in 2020, 1029 out of 18,335 cases (5.6%) in 2021, 877 out of 16,264 cases (5.4%) in 2022, and 919 out of 15,640 cases (5.9%) in 2023.

The province decided to support free checkups to strengthen management, as it was analyzed that 94.5% (90,499 people) of the 95,815 foreigners registered in the province as of the end of September last year were nationals of 35 countries, including Vietnam, which are high-risk countries for tuberculosis, which is higher than the national average of 89.9% (1.31 million people).

This project is being promoted in cooperation with the Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungnam branches of the Korea Tuberculosis Association. It provides a visiting checkup service using the Korea Tuberculosis Association's mobile checkup vehicle and conducts mandatory drug tests (urine) at the same time.

For those with symptoms or findings from the chest X-ray examination, a detailed examination such as a sputum test is conducted at the public health center, and if treatment is necessary, they are registered and managed until they are completely cured.

Treatment can be received without any personal expense through a special calculation exemption for health insurance, and vulnerable foreign groups who are not covered by health insurance can receive full support for hospitalization and treatment at the National Masan Hospital, free of charge.

The Daejeon, Chungnam, and Sejong branches of the Korea Tuberculosis Association have prepared a quarantine space called 'Miso Kkumteo' (located in Yongsan-gu, Seoul) to provide one-stop support from transfer to treatment.

In this regard, the province conducted the first free tuberculosis screening for 46 Lao foreign seasonal workers at the Town Hall conference room in Cheonan on the 10th, and plans to promote the project by discussing schedules with cities, counties, and foreign employment agencies (businesses).

An official from the province said, "Tuberculosis is a disease where early detection and prevention are important, and we ask for active cooperation such as applying for the project for the checkup of vulnerable foreign groups who are in the blind spot of checkups." "We will do our best to prevent the spread of tuberculosis in the community and protect the health of the citizens."

Department Health Policy Division, Infectious Disease Prevention Team

Phone number 041-635-4307