Home Office extends Tuberculosis screening for immigrants
In the second phase of the Home Office’s attempts to tackle the increase in tuberculosis (TB) in the UK, immigrants from a further 11 countries will now have to be pre-screened if they plan to stay in the country for longer than six months.
The first phase of pre-entry screening was rolled out to eight countries, including India, Malaysia and the Philippines, in May 2012. From 1 July the scheme is being introduced to 11 more countries including China, Ethiopia, Gambia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malawi, Morocco, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Vietnam and Zambia.
The changes mean that immigrants from 67 countries with a high incidence of TB will now have to be screened before they are granted a visa for the UK. Screening usually takes place at the arrivals hall in the airport where the Home Office has installed x-ray machines specifically for this purpose. Any arriving immigrant from these countries refusing to be screened for TB can be refused entry to the UK.
Immigration minister Mark Harper claims: “It’s essential that we take action to tackle the rise of tuberculosis cases in the UK. Pre-entry screening, followed by treatment where necessary, will help to prevent the risk of TB in the UK and will also save lives. The further expansion of our pre-entry screening process will help prevent the importation and spread of TB in the UK and save money for the taxpayer in the process.”
The most recent data shows that there were over 9,000 new cases of TB in the UK in 2011, a five per cent increase on 2010. People born outside the UK accounted for three quarters of all new TB cases.
