A techie, Srinivas
Reddy, who flew to the United Kingdom on a professional trip some time
back, had a bitter experience on landing at the Anegada Airport there.Immigration officials detained him for a few hours at the airport for not producing a tuberculosis-free health certificate.A
city-based businessman, Jagadeeswar, too had a similar experience on
his first business trip to London. He was stopped in his tracks at the
Heathrow airport for not carrying the certificate.Reddy and
Jagadeeswar are not stray cases of Indians being detained at UK
airports, as Britain has intensified surveillance to detect carriers of a
latent form of tuberculosis, particularly those arriving from India,
Pakistan and Bangladesh.Based on a study conducted by Imperial
College, London, the British officials believe that a majority of the
carriers of the disease to the UK are Indians.Meanwhile, to
comply with the new rule, people from AP bound for the UK are queuing up
at the Erragadda Chest Hospital to undergo tuberculosis screening.“As
the UK insists on the tuberculosis-free certificate, those who have
obtained UK visas are coming to the Government Chest Hospital for
screening. In the recent months, the Chest Hospital has issued hundreds
of No Objection Certificates on the health of travellers with a clear
mention that the traveller is free from tuberculosis.The hospital
has been getting at least 10 requests per week for the certificates,”
said Dr S V Prasad, superintendent of the AP Government Chest Hospital.Meanwhile,
Srinivas Reddy, who returned from the UK, is taking all precautions to
avoid any trouble during his next visit to the UK shortly.“I had a
bitter experience in the UK. The immigration staff had detained me for
hours because I did not have a certitificate that I was free from TB. I
am planning to visit the UK again and this time I am being more careful.I am here to take a certificate from the hospital,”said Reddy while waiting for his turn for screening at the Chest Hospital.On
the other hand, the UK's suspicion that Indians are carriers of
tuberculosis seems not without any basis, if the Chest Hospital data is
any indication. The hospital authorities have confirmed that the
incidence of tuberculosis has been on the rise."There are more
patients here with a type of tuberculosis that could be cured. As many
as 12,000 cases of this type of TB have been reported till April 2011 in
the chest hospital, Dr Prasad said.
By Mouli Mareedu
moulimareedu@gmail.com
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