IOM tuberculosis experts from eleven countries met in Bangkok this
week to plan the roll-out of the second phase of a UK-sponsored
programme to screen long stay UK visa applicants from countries
identified by the WHO as having a high incidence of TB.

The three-day workshop drew on the experience of a pilot phase
launched by IOM for the UK in Bangladesh, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand
and Cambodia in late 2005. The second, main phase of the programme
will be launched this year in the Philippines, Pakistan, China,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana.

Under the programme, people from these countries applying for
visas to stay over six months in the UK will need to obtain a
certificate showing that they are free from infectious TB.

The screening, which takes place at IOM clinics or clinics at
which IOM monitors quality control, involves a chest X-ray and if
an abnormality is detected, a sputum smear.

Visa applicants who test positive for TB are encouraged to seek
treatment before their visa application can be approved by the UK.
TB treatment can vary from six months for a simple case to two
years for a complex, multi-drug-resistant strain.

"Screening of long stay visitors makes sense because, although
TB is an airborne infection, it is usually spread through close
contact with an infected person over a long period," says IOM
Thailand programme coordinator Dr. Pedrag Bajcevic.

"In its early stages, people sometimes don't realize that they
have this disease. Early detection through screening means that
they can get the treatment that they need at home, sooner, and
usually at a fraction of the UK cost," he observes.

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Olga Gorbacheva

IOM Geneva

Tel. +41.22.7179396

E-mail: "mailto:ogorbacheva@iom.int">ogorbacheva@iom.int