Manama: Qatari authorities last year sent 135 foreigners home after they tested positive for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
The cases, which comprised 111 men and 24 women, were discovered at mandatory health checks for foreigners taking up jobs in the country, Qatari daily The Peninsula reported on Monday.
It also said the total number of foreigners found medically unfit to work in Qatar for a variety of reasons was 4,482.
Around 3,460 men were found to have suffered from tuberculosis (TB) in the past and the bacteria were still dormant in their bodies. The number of women who had dormant TB bacteria was 471.
As for active TB cases, 140 men and 21 women were detected with the disease and repatriated home. Hepatitis B and C cases that were detected were fewer.
The figures were included in the annual report of the Medical Commission, tasked with conducting the mandatory health checks on new foreign workers.
The commission routinely screens hundreds of thousands of foreign workers who arrive for work in Qatar.
A new service will be introduced on May 1 to allow professionals entering the country for the first time to undergo the mandatory health checks at a private hospital.
"We are holding talks in this regard with three private hospitals and the private sector as well," the commission's director said.
A foreigner will then choose to undergo the health check at a private clinic or approach the commission directly.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), one of the world's most lucrative labour markets and home to millions of foreigners, has a policy of carrying out medical tests to ensure expatriates are medically fit and do not carry diseases. The screening focuses on heart conditions, active TB and HIV.
