Dubai Health Authority cancels liver test for expatriates

Dubai Health Authority has started implementing new amendments to the medical fitness examination for those coming to the country.

The Director of the Medical Fitness Department at the Authority, Maysaa Al-Bustani, told Al-Emarat Al-Youm, “The new amendment cancels the hepatitis test for those coming to the country, and limits it to categories of servants and workers in health clubs, and the field of restaurants and food.”

She pointed out that “the Authority has modified the electronic examination system in 14 examination centers spread across Dubai, in a way that enables differentiation between the categories to be examined,” considering that “the modification has ended the suffering of a large number of expatriate families, and reunited wives infected with hepatitis with their husbands working in the country.”

In detail, Al Bustani said that the Authority has begun implementing the new amendments to medical fitness tests in 14 examination centers spread across the emirate.

She added that “the new amendment limits the hepatitis B test to six categories, working in the field of raising children, domestic service, hair salons, food service and restaurants,” noting that “this test was mandatory for all expatriates, to obtain residency.”

She explained that “new arrivals from outside these categories are tested for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), tuberculosis (TB) and leprosy,” adding that “the electronic system applied in the Authority’s medical fitness centers has been modified to divide the test according to the category of the residency applicant.”

She stated that according to the amended electronic system, hepatitis B testing will only be conducted on the six categories, whether upon obtaining residency for the first time or upon renewing it.

She pointed out that “a pregnancy test has been added for maids when obtaining or renewing residency,” as the new amendments stipulate that “domestic workers, such as maids, nannies and drivers, must undergo a pregnancy test before issuing a certificate of freedom from diseases. If pregnancy is proven, the sponsor has the option of allowing her to work for him or not, after he acknowledges in writing that he is aware of the test result.”

Al-Bustani pointed out that “the amendment solved the problem of a large number of expatriate families, as there were husbands working in the country who were unable to bring their wives who were infected with the hepatitis virus.”

She pointed out that, “according to the new amendment, the family of any citizen who does not hold the country’s nationality (husband, wife, children and parents) will not be examined, and they now have the right to reside without a medical fitness examination.”

Al-Bustani confirmed that “patients with AIDS do not obtain residency, and those who contract pulmonary tuberculosis are placed in quarantine in Dubai, treated, and then returned to their country.”

She stated that “leprosy testing is conducted when granting residency to new arrivals and when renewing residency, and residency is neither granted nor renewed for infected cases,” noting that “tuberculosis testing is limited to the type (pulmonary tuberculosis) only, and testing is only conducted for new arrivals, and no other type of tuberculosis is considered.”

The Director of the Medical Fitness Department pointed out that the examination centers affiliated with the Health Authority receive between 2,500 and 3,000 people daily who are seeking residency or renewal.

Last August, Health Minister Hanif Hassan announced that the Cabinet had approved amendments to the medical examination system for expatriates coming to the country for work or residence.

He pointed out that these amendments came “after some negatives emerged in the currently applied examination procedures.”

He explained that “a committee of consultants specializing in infectious diseases, directors of preventive medicine at the Ministry of Health, the health authorities in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and legal experts studied the health and social dimensions of the examination system,” noting that “it concluded that some examination procedures must be modified.”

The amendment stipulates that the hepatitis virus test when applying for or renewing a residence permit will be limited to “the categories of nannies, domestic workers and those in similar positions, nursery and kindergarten supervisors, workers in hairdressing and beauty salons and health clubs, workers in preparing, serving and monitoring food, and workers in restaurants and cafeterias.”