Strategies to Better Identify and Manage Outbreak of Tuberculosis and Other Infectious Diseases
Ministry of HealthSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the effectiveness of surveillance and prevention strategies for tuberculosis (TB) and other infectious diseases, as raised by Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong. Minister for Health Mr Ong Ye Kung replied that the Ministry monitors threats through international collaboration, horizon scanning, and reporting from healthcare professionals, laboratories, and sentinel sites. He highlighted the permanent deployment of wastewater testing and noted that TB transmission is managed through contact investigations and screening for active or latent infections. The Minister stated that responses are tailored based on transmission modes and severity, while also focusing on improving public awareness and education. To enhance future capabilities, the Ministry is leveraging new IT and analytic tools to generate deeper insights from its various surveillance data.
Transcript
11 Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong asked the Minister for Health concerning the resurgence of tuberculosis and the potential increase in other infectious diseases (a) how effective is the current surveillance system in detecting and reporting cases of infectious diseases; and (b) whether there are any plans to enhance the disease surveillance and reporting mechanisms to better identify and manage outbreaks.
12 Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong asked the Minister for Health (a) what prevention strategies are in place to reduce the transmission of tuberculosis (TB) and other infectious diseases within the community; and (b) how is the Ministry working to improve public awareness and education on the prevention of TB and other infectious diseases.
Mr Ong Ye Kung: The Ministry of Health (MOH) monitors infectious diseases threats through collaboration with international counterparts and partners, horizon scanning and risk assessment. Locally, MOH monitors disease trends, including for tuberculosis (TB), through reporting of diseases by healthcare professionals and laboratories and sentinel sites. Since COVID-19 pandemic, we work with the National Environment Agency to deploy wastewater testing as a permanent and regular mode for disease surveillance.
Our response to the spread of infectious diseases is tailored based on the circumstances, including their transmission mode and severity. For example, in the case of TB, it spreads through prolonged close contact. We will therefore conduct contact investigations to identify persons with close and prolonged contact with infectious TB cases. Such persons are screened for TB and treated, if found to have active TB disease or latent TB infection. This is a tried and tested way to reduce transmission of TB.
New technologies and methods are continuously adopted to complement and improve our surveillance systems. We will continue to improve our current systems by leveraging new IT and analytic tools to generate insights from various surveillance data.