A Thai health group has begun testing Burmese migrant workers for TB in Mararchai due to a fear of infected migrants spreading it through Thailand.

One of nurses involved in the testing told IMNA,” The Ministry of Public Health has directed local Thai doctors to test people for TB as there is a fear that it’s on the increase. We have the budget to test Thais but not migrant workers so we’ve accepted assistance from the International Organization of Migrants (IOM) to test the migrants for free.”

Commencing on 31st March, Smut Sakron Province Health Office has been providing free TB tests to those migrants without IDs. According to one of the participating doctors, this is because such workers have not been tested before.

“We’ll not be testing documented migrant workers because they have the chance to be tested once a year in our hospitals, whereas those without the proper documents haven’t had this opportunity,” explained the doctor.

Another doctor said, “We will test 5000 of them this month and later we will continue testing the others. If any migrant tests positive for TB we’ll provide free treatment.”

A migrant worker said that before testing takes place, they must provide names, phone numbers and an address so that they can receive their results a week later. One of the doctors added that workers with the disease are required to take the course of treatment for two weeks, during which time they must stay away from their factory jobs.

Testing is not compulsory, according to a factory manager, so migrants can refuse if they wish. This is in contrast to the situation in Three Pagodas Pass, on February 20th when migrant workers were forced by factory owners to submit to TB testing, carried out by Thai doctors. They were told by their employers that if they refused to be tested they would lose their jobs.