Press release of THL, Filha and FIOH
A significant proportion of healthcare and social welfare workers in Finland have a foreign background. Workforce and students are also being continuously recruited from countries where tuberculosis is a common disease, such as the Philippines, India, Vietnam and sub-Saharan African countries.
According to the Communicable Diseases Act, a health examination must be performed on those from high-risk countries and anyone exposed to tuberculosis before their work or training begins and it must be ensured that they do not have infectious tuberculosis. The aim of the examinations is to prevent the transmission of tuberculosis in healthcare.
The employer is responsible for ensuring that the tuberculosis examinations are performed. This obligation also applies to staffing agencies and subcontracted workers. The website of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health contains instructions on health examinations related to tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis remains one of the most common communicable diseases in the world
According to an estimate by the World Health Organisation (WHO), a total of 10.6 million people were infected with tuberculosis in 2023 and 1.3 million died from it. The highest number of cases were diagnosed in Asia and Africa.
Tuberculosis is transmitted via airborne transmission, but an infection usually requires long or repeated exposure. The disease can remain latent and only become active years after the infection.
In 2024, 187 cases of tuberculosis were diagnosed in Finland. Diagnoses were more common in foreign-born patients than those of Finnish origin. The largest number of cases was diagnosed among 30–44-year-olds.
– A typical tuberculosis patient in Finland is either an older Finnish-born person who contracted the infection in their youth or a young or working-age immigrant, says Hanna Soini, Chief Specialist at THL.
Tuberculosis is a generally hazardous communicable disease whose treatment and control measures are guided in Finland under the Communicable Diseases Act. The disease is treated with a combination of medications and the treatment takes several months. The examinations and treatment of tuberculosis are free of charge for the examination subjects and patients.
Information about tuberculosis is available in many languages
As the number of foreign healthcare and social welfare workers and students is growing, there is also a need for comprehensive information about tuberculosis and the examination and treatment practices of the disease in Finland.
– The diverse cultural beliefs and stigma associated with tuberculosis may delay seeking treatment, so the availability of accurate information plays a key role in preventing infections, says Professor Tuula Vasankari, Filha.
The tuberkuloosi.fi website maintained by Filha ry disseminates versatile and reliable information on tuberculosis to the population, patients and professionals in more than ten different languages, and new translations are produced annually.
The World Tuberculosis Day is on 24 March.
See also
- Information in various languages (Filha): Tuberculosis - tuberkuloosi.fi
- Health examinations related to tuberculosis (FIOH, in Finnish): Tuberkuloosiin liittyvät terveystarkastukset
- XV National Tuberculosis Day training event on 5 May 2025 (Filha, in Finnish): XV Valtakunnallinen tuberkuloosipäivä
- Tuberkuloosi (Filha, in Finnish): Tuberkuloosi
- What is tuberculosis? (THL, in Finnish) : Tuberkuloosi
- Prevalence of tuberculosis in Finland (THL, in Finnish): Tuberkuloosin esiintyvyys Suomessa
- Communicable Diseases Act 1227/2016 (Finlex): 1227/2016 | Legislation
Further information
- Irmeli Lindström, Chief Physician, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, tel. +358 (0)46 851 1898, firstname.lastname@ttl.fi
- Hanna Soini, Senior Expert, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, tel. +358 (0)29 524 6608, firstname.lastname@thl.fi
- Tuula Vasankari, Secretary General, Professor, Filha, tel. +358 (0)50 545 0589, firstname.lastname@filha.fi
