Bangkok Boosts TB Control, Urges Annual Screening for Close Contacts

(March 11, 2025) - The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is intensifying its efforts to detect new cases of tuberculosis (TB), monitor existing patients, and has issued a strong appeal for those in close contact with sufferers to undergo annual screening.

 

Associate Professor Tavida Kamolvej, Deputy Governor of Bangkok, chaired the 1st/2025 meeting of the Committee for the Development of Systems to Increase the Efficiency of Tuberculosis Control in Bangkok.

The meeting featured reports and discussions on TB operations within Bangkok’s prisons, the operational plan for the second phase of the 2025 fiscal year’s proactive TB detection and screening project in densely populated communities, the Dusit Model’s proactive screening initiative, and the BMA’s one million health check-up project.

 



 

The meeting also addressed latent TB, calling for collaboration from all medical facilities, both public and private, across Bangkok. These facilities are required to provide TB treatment in accordance with the National Tuberculosis Control Guidelines, covering both drug-resistant and non-drug-resistant strains. 



 

This includes stringent oversight of medication adherence among patients. Should operational difficulties arise, patients can be referred via the TB referral centre to local public health service centres for continued care, ensuring optimal treatment outcomes and minimising the risk of future drug resistance.

Discussions further focused on measures to accelerate TB control operations in Bangkok by 2035 and expedite efforts to eradicate the disease.

 



 

These measures include enhanced proactive detection and screening, comprehensive treatment of both active and latent TB, and a reinforced emphasis on the accurate and timely input of data into the National Tuberculosis Information Program (NTIP) database.
  

Members of the public seeking information about TB or wishing to contact officials can join the "TB BMA" LINE group by scanning the QR code provided.

(2025/03/12-00:00)