Central Sulawesi receives 16 X-ray units to expand TB screening

The Central Sulawesi Provincial Government has received support in the form of 16 portable X-ray units from the Indonesian Ministry of Health, which will be placed in every district and city to expand the coverage of tuberculosis (TB) screening or early detection.

“God willing, we will receive 16 X-ray units which we will place in every district and city,” said Head of the Central Sulawesi Provincial Health Office Syahriar in Palu on Tuesday.

He explained that the Ministry of Health has allocated 16 X-ray units to strengthen TB detection in Central Sulawesi, scheduled to arrive in September 2026.

In addition to the portable X-ray units, Central Sulawesi will also receive Near Point of Care (NPOC) devices that can support TB testing and can be transported to peripheral areas.

According to him, NPOC has a function almost identical to the Molecular Rapid Test (TCM), but is easier to move, thus supporting examinations for communities located far from health facilities.

“We can place them in peripheral locations of the districts and cities in the province, so that people who are truly in peripheral areas can be detected and served,” he said.

This situation, he said, has caused TB cases to continue to be found year after year because people who are infected or at high risk have not yet received preventive therapy.

“The cases found so far have only seen the sick treated. But those around them — family groups or close contacts who are at high risk — have not been handled,” he said.

He explained that the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacterium can remain in a latent state before developing into active disease. Therefore, treatment is not sufficient if it is only carried out on people who have shown symptoms.

According to him, increased case finding must be accompanied by optimised treatment to cure sufferers while preventing transmission to others.

“The goal is how we reduce the TB rate and how we increase case finding as well as improve tuberculosis preventive therapy so that the cases or prevalence of this disease continue to decline from year to year,” he said.

Based on Ministry of Health data, Central Sulawesi is among the six provinces with the highest TB case finding achievement nationally in 2025.

This case finding achievement is also accompanied by a high treatment rate, namely around 90 percent of TB cases found.