Qatar identifies 73 people infected with HIV
Qatar health authorities have identified 73 newly-arrived people infected with the dreaded HIV between April and August.
The Medical Commission, which runs mandatory health checks on foreigners and their family members arriving in Qatar to work and stay, conducted medical checks on 212,000 people in the five-month period. The check-ups also included food handlers already employed in the country.
The commission also identified 74 confirmed cases of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, senior officials from the Commission said, Qatari daily The Peninsula reported on Friday.
The commission said that 1,847 people were unfit to work or stay in Qatar after they were found to be infected with the virus or diseases.
A vast majority (1,346) had dormant TB bacteria, the authorities said.
According to Ibrahim Al Shaar, Medical Commission’s director, the monthly average number of people who were checked by the Commission between April and August was 42,379, “a figure that is very high considering that the earlier average was 1,927.”
