Health authorities in western Greece are on heightened alert after at least 10 cases of tuberculosis were identified among foreign farm workers hospitalized at the university hospital of Patras, according to regional media reports.
The development comes days after the death of a 20-year-old farm worker from Nepal succumbed to leptospirosis at the same hospital, raising concerns over sanitation and living conditions in camps set up for farm hands in the fertile plains of the northwest Peloponnese.
Regional health officials convened an emergency meeting with representatives from the country’s public health agency and local authorities to assess the situation and coordinate containment measures, reports said. Authorities have begun contact tracing procedures and are preparing preventive treatment protocols for individuals considered at risk of exposure.
Several of the hospitalized workers, mostly originating from countries including Nepal, Sudan and Bangladesh, were exhibiting symptoms consistent with tuberculosis, prompting increased monitoring by public health services.
The incidents have renewed scrutiny of the conditions faced by foreign agricultural workers employed in key farming regions such as Ilia (Elis) prefecture and western Achaia prefecture, where labor shortages in recent years have led growers to rely heavily on migrant labor.
Previous press reports cited overcrowded camps, poor sanitation and limited healthcare access for seasonal farm workers in Greece’s agricultural sector.
Leptospirosis, a bacterial disease commonly linked to contaminated water and poor hygiene conditions, can spread through contact with infected animal urine and is considered especially dangerous in overcrowded environments lacking adequate sanitation infrastructure.
