Tuberculosis kills 12,000 Vietnamese people annually: Deputy PM

Speaking at the ceremony held by the Ministry of Health yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam pointed out that 12,000 die of tuberculosis yearly, 1.5 times higher than the number of fatalities due to traffic accidents during the same time.

A national action program was yesterday launched by the Ministry of Health’s  National TB Prevention Program to call for joining hand to eliminate tuberculosis by 2030 in response to the World Tuberculosis Day (on March 24).
The world reports 10 million tuberculosis fresh infection cases and the disease kills 1.6 million annually, Mr. Dam said .
Though the Southeast Asian country is considered to be effective in fighting against the disease yet it still has 120,000 fresh infection cases. Simultaneously, 19 percent of tuberculosis-infected Vietnamese people have not been detected whereas early treatment is very important.
Accordingly, Deputy PM Dam requested the health sector and related agencies to improve people’s awareness of tuberculosis that the disease is not as creepy as they thought.
Tuberculosis patients need heed of medical workers and the community’s support so that they feel encouraged to take medical check-up and treatment as per schedule to prevent drug resistance.
Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said this year the World Tuberculosis Day is themed ‘It’s time to wipe out tuberculosis in Vietnam by 2030” with the goal of just 1,000 Vietnamese people infected with tuberculosis over 100 million population by 2030.

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