Taipei to intensify efforts in tackling tuberculosis

The Taipei City's Department of Health yesterday confirmed that a high-school student at the city's Jen Ai Junior High School (仁愛國中) had contracted pulmonary tuberculosis and that two other students were suspected of being infected, local media reported.

Chiu Shu-shih (邱淑媞), director of the health department, yesterday said that her organization was planning to budget NT$20 million a year for annual TB checkups on teachers and students, starting in the next academic year.

"Those who are infected with pulmonary tuberculosis should not be allowed to return to school until they fully recover from the illness," she added. Some students with TB return to school while they are still being treated, she said.

To prevent the disease from spreading further at the high school, medical staff from Taipei Municipal Chronic Disease Hospital (台北市立慢性病防治院) immediately conducted X-ray check-ups on the faculty and students yesterday morning.

According to Wang Chu-pei (王朱貝), dean of the school, the second-grader infected with the deadly disease is now being treated in the hospital. She said further examinations of the two students suspected of being infected would be necessary.

Chiu said that 110 teenagers in Taipei had been infected with the disease by the end of October. She warned parents and teachers to be aware of the disease.

Pulmonary tuberculosis is an infectious disease of humans and animals caused by the tubercle bacillus. It is usually characterized by coughing, fever, weight loss and chest pain.

The disease is now one of the most common infectious diseases in Taiwan, with at least 15,000 new cases diagnosed nationwide every year.

The illness accounts for 70 percent of the cases of communicable diseases in Taiwan and killed 1,534 people last year.