SELANGOR TO CARRY ON TB TREATMENT INCENTIVE - EXCO

SHAH ALAM, April 21 (Bernama) -- The Selangor government will carry on the RM800 Tuberculosis (TB) Treatment Incentive for this year as a continuous effort to curb the spread of the disease in the state.

State Public Health and Environment Committee chairman Jamaliah Jamaluddin said the continuation of the incentive, aimed at lower income groups, is to ensure that patients can receive treatment till they have fully recovered.

"This effort shows Selangor’s commitment to ensure that patients, especially from the B40 group, can obtain consistent treatment till they fully recover,” she said in a statement today, adding that Malaysia recorded 26,183 TB cases, with 20 per cent or 55,337 cases in Selangor.

She also said that incidences of the disease have risen by 2.5 per cent annually since 2020, which made the need for continuous and comprehensive intervention even more pressing. 

“That said, cooperation between the state government, the state health department and the Malaysian Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis (MAPTB) bore fruit when the treament success rate rose from 80 per cent in 2020 to 88 per cent in 2024,” she said, adding that the state health department played a vital role in tackling current challenges related to TB through strategic and innovative approaches by focusing on early detection, quality treatment and public education.

Major initiatives include investing in healthcare technology such as high-tech ultra-portable X-ray machines supported by artificial intelligence (AI) to boost the accuracy and speed of TB diagnoses, Jamaliah said.

In addition, the latest laboratory tests and the formulation of child-friendly medication introduced by the Health Ministry also boosted efforts to treat patients of all ages.

"We hope to save more lives and reduce the burden of the disease on communities through approaches using medical innovation,” she added.

-- BERNAMA