Taipei offering free TB screening for high-risk groups, foreign spouses

Taipei, March 24 (CNA) Hospitals in Taipei are offering free tuberculosis (TB) screening to people at a high risk of developing the disease and the foreign spouses of Taiwan nationals, the Taipei City government said Monday.

In a press release, the Taipei City Department of Health noted that March 24 has been designated as World Tuberculosis Day by the World Health Organization, which has set a goal of ending the global TB epidemic by 2035.

Tuberculosis, which is spread through the air, does not immediately sicken a person who is infected, but lives in the body as a latent, or inactive TB infection, the department said.

Around 5-10 percent of people with latent TB will develop active TB disease at some point during their lives, typically when their immune system is weakened, the department said.

Certain high-risk groups, including dialysis patients, people with HIV, diabetics aged 45 and above with HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin) levels above 9 percent, and people aged 60 and above with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are between 1.4 and 25 times more likely to develop TB disease than the general public, it added.

Meanwhile, people who are screened and treated for latent TB infection can lower their risk of developing active TB disease by more than 90 percent, according to the department.

To help eradicate the disease, the department said it had partnered with 27 hospitals across Taipei in 2025 to offer free TB screening to people in the aforementioned high-risk categories.

Foreign spouses of Taiwan nationals, meanwhile, are eligible for free TB screening even if they do not live in Taipei, and can also claim a NT$300 (US$9.08) product voucher, the department said.

In 2024, Taiwan recorded 6,222 new cases of tuberculosis, a drop of around 63 percent from the 16,472 new cases recorded in 2005, Taiwan Centers for Disease Control statistics showed.