Workers with diseases who are not immediately repatriated are posing a risk to the public, doctors in Qatar have warned.
Qatar’s Medical Commission told the Gulf Times on Sunday the vast majority of expatriates who failed health checks suffered from tuberculosis, with 4,205 out of 4,789 cases reported in 2007 and 3,038 out of 3,407 cases until the end of June.
Inquiries from the commission indicated that many of those who were found to be potential carriers of diseases were living with healthy people.
Dr Ahmed Kamal Naji, director of the Medical Commission, which screens all new arrivals for diseases like TB, HIV and in certain categories Hepatitis B and C, said: “The risks are real and it is dangerous.”
Officially, unfit workers are supposed to be sent back immediately but some can evade their sponsor to work illegally in an effort to recover at least part of the money spent on coming to Qatar.
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