BY RAISING some pertinent questions on the screening schedule of
foreign workers ('Health checks: Why the gender discrimination?',
Tuesday), Mrs Ivy Singh-Lim has opened a Pandora's box as there are
other issues that should be studied.
If the authorities are leery of maids offering sexual services,
why do we screen them for only syphilis and HIV, when these are not
the most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in
Singapore?
Surely, screening for only the most conveniently detected
venereal disease is an expedient measure, more as a procedural
routine than an encompassing diagnostic dragnet?
Again, while an employer may be aghast that his maid has
contracted an STD, the disease does not prevent her from performing
her duties, and members of the employer's household will not be
infected or suffer in any way.
It has never been official policy to ordain tests for infectious
diseases for maids. These should be mandatory - even before the
maid is first employed - and done regularly. Diseases like
Hepatitis A, typhoid and Helicobacter pylori infections are spread
via the oro-faecal route and unsuspecting employers are at risk of
infection from maids who are carriers�(almost all maids are food
handlers in the home). A little neglect in hygiene can have dire
consequences for the innocent.
Paradoxically, the law makes it compulsory for other food
handlers like hawkers to be vaccinated against typhoid
periodically, making official policy on different categories of
food handlers seem rather haphazard.
I have never understood why we focus on immunising food handlers
when we should do so for maids as well, and identify those who are
carriers so they can be treated before they infect others.
Dr Yik Keng Yeong