A doctor checks the health of a TB patient at Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital in HCM City. Viet Nam hopes to control the disease by 2030 and eliminate it later. — VNA/VNS Photo Phuong Vy
HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam is expected to control tuberculosis (TB) by 2030, and eventually hopes to eliminate it.
At present, about 200 people in every 100,000 catch the disease and 18 in every 100,000 die from it each year. These figures are expected to drop to 131 and 10 respectively by 2020.
And by 2030, the country expects that TB patients will be cut to below 20 per 100,000.
This is part of a national TB prevention strategy outlined until 2020, with a vision to 2030 recently approved by the Prime Minister.
To achieve the goal, Viet Nam will amend policies, raise public awareness about relevant laws, and offer medical check-ups and treatment, especially in remote and mountainous areas.
On top of this, it will join with countries around the world to detect, treat and curb the cross-border spread of TB. Training courses for TB health workers will be offered both at home and abroad, while the enforcement of laws on TB prevention will be strengthened.
At a workshop held to implement the strategy on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said it was essential to involve the whole political system in the fight.
It was also necessary to define the exact number of TB patients who needed treatment to prevent the disease spreading further, he said.
But, said Dam, there must also be enough medicine to treat patients, free of charge if necessary.
TB, an infectious bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, generally affects the lungs. It is transmitted from person to person through droplets from the throat and lungs.
The symptoms of active TB of the lung are coughing, sometimes with sputum or blood, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats.
The World Health Organisation said TB was the second leading infectious cause of death in the world and that drug-resistant formers existed in most countries. — VNS
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