By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Feb 10: Sarawak is among the seven states nationwide which still have active tuberculosis (TB) clusters that were reported last year.
According to Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad, a total of 88 TB clusters involving 254 cases were reported nationwide in 2025, of which 35 remain active.
He said Sarawak has five active clusters, with Selangor recording the most (13), followed by Kedah (six), Federal Territories (five), Johor (three), Kelantan (two), and Terengganu (one).
In addition, he said that 10 TB clusters had been reported nationwide so far this year.
“Selangor recorded four clusters involving 10 cases, Johor one cluster with 37 cases, Kedah and Kelantan one cluster with two cases each, Pahang one cluster with four cases, Perlis one cluster with two cases, and Sabah one cluster involving five cases,” he told the Dewan Rakyat today, as reported by Free Malaysia Today.
To combat this, he said that the ministry has conducted screening measures at high-risk institutions such as boarding schools, prisons, and workers’ hostels where they checked for symptoms like prolonged cough, fever, loss of appetite, and weight loss, while conducting clinical lung examinations, chest X-rays and sputum tests.
Close contacts without TB are screened for infection or latent TB and, if necessary, given preventive treatment.
The minister also advised symptomatic individuals to practise proper cough etiquette by covering their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.
Last week, the Johor health department confirmed a TB outbreak in Kota Tinggi.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), TB is an infectious disease caused by bacteria that most often affects the lungs. It spreads through the air when infected individuals cough, sneeze or spit.
It is preventable via measures such as early detection, screenings, practising good hygiene, avoiding contact with infected individuals, covering your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, and wearing masks.
While it is curable through antibiotics, it can be fatal if an infected individual does not seek treatment. — DayakDaily
