Bedok Central TB screening: 85.1% of more than 3,000 people screened test negative

SINGAPORE – The authorities found that 85.1 per cent of the 3,169 people screened for tuberculosis (TB) at Bedok Central have tested negative for TB infection. This is after three clusters were discovered there.

The remaining 14.9 per cent – or 473 people – who had a positive blood test result will be contacted to undergo a chest X-ray to determine if they have active or latent TB, the authorities added.

The screening results from the week-long exercise held in early May were announced by the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) on May 13.

“The screening results so far are within normal expectations,” Senior Minister of State for Health Tan Kiat How said at Heartbeat@Bedok, where free X-ray scans for those with positive blood test results take place from May 13 to 15.

Mr Tan said the results were similar to the previous TB situation at the ABC Brickworks Market and Food Centre in Jalan Bukit Merah in February 2024, where around 85 per cent tested negative and 15 per cent needed to do the follow-up X-ray.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on May 5 that after the mass screening exercise at Jalan Bukit Merah, there had been no active TB cases among residents in the area since February 2024. The seven cases found were all living outside the area.

Most of the 473 people with positive blood test results from the Bedok Central screening are expected to have the non-infectious form of TB infection, which is known as latent TB infection, CDA said.

Latent TB infection is not uncommon in Singaporeans, and the prevalence of latent TB increases with age. People with latent TB infections are not infectious and cannot spread the TB infection to others. The TB bacteria remain inactive in about 90 per cent of healthy adults with latent TB infection, CDA has said.

TB screening was conducted following the discovery of three clusters with a total of 13 cases, all genetically similar, which formed in Bedok Central.

As some cases were likely infected through repeated visits or prolonged exposure at Heartbeat@Bedok, Block 216 Bedok Food Centre and Market, and the Singapore Pools Bedok Betting Centre at Block 215 Bedok North Street 1, tenants and employees at the three locations underwent mandatory screening from May 2 to 8.

Voluntary screening was also offered to people who had visited the locations for an extended period of time from 2023.

Of the 3,169 screened, 1,255 were in the mandatory group. As at May 12, there were still 41 individuals who had not undergone the mandatory screening or booked an appointment to be screened. CDA urged them to step forward for testing, which will be offered free of charge until June 5.

CDA is in the midst of calling up those whose blood tests returned positive to arrange for a chest X-ray. Those with negative blood test results will receive an SMS notification.

A normal chest X-ray result indicates a latent TB infection, meaning the person does not exhibit symptoms and is not infectious, therefore not posing a public health risk.

In addition, a person with latent TB can receive a preventive treatment of anti-TB antibiotics over four to six months to reduce the risk of developing active TB disease in the future. CDA will cover the costs.

In 2015, the latent TB prevalence among all Singapore residents was 12.7 per cent, CDA said. It is about 2 per cent among those aged 18 to 29, and about 29 per cent among those aged 70 to 79.

Those with an abnormal chest X-ray result will be further evaluated at the National Tuberculosis Care Centre. If they have active TB, they will promptly begin treatment with a combination of drugs for six to nine months.

Mr Tan said the results of the X-ray scans will be ready within two working days.

CDA will identify close contacts for each case of active TB disease through current contact-tracing protocols.

TB is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It usually affects the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body.

Symptoms of TB disease include a persistent cough lasting more than two weeks, a low-grade fever, night sweats, fatigue, weight loss and chest pain, CDA said.

TB spreads when a person with an active TB infection coughs the bacteria into the air, which others then inhale through close, prolonged contact, CDA added. The agency reiterated that transmission of TB usually requires prolonged exposure over days or weeks of contact, rather than minutes or hours.

Mr Tan said it is safe to eat at the food centre and visit Heartbeat@Bedok.

He had shared earlier on social media that his TB blood test results came back negative.

He went for testing as he frequented Bedok Central as the MP for the Kampong Chai Chee ward of East Coast GRC, where the three key locations of possible TB transmission are.

“So far, we have zero cases of active TB here at Heartbeat@Bedok and the hawker centre,” Mr Tan said.

Mr James Chua frequented the food centre a few times each week to connect with friends.

He volunteered to get a blood test done last week and tested positive for TB infection. Some of his friends also got their blood tested, though he knows of others who did not want to be tested.

The 76-year-old retiree went for an X-ray on May 13.

Patients with active TB are generally no longer infectious two weeks after treatment begins and can probably resume normal activities.

Bedok North resident Mumtaz Begam was not worried after hearing of the screening results.

The 71-year-old retiree said she understood that transmission of TB is through close and prolonged contact, hence she did not see a need to avoid visiting Heartbeat@Bedok as part of her daily routine.