Fight against TB needs active engagement of all people: expert

A nurse tends to a TB patient at Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – A lung expert has called for more
active public participation in (TB) prevention and control to
eradicate the disease from Vietnam by 2030.

The appeal was made by Director of the National
Lung Hospital and Chairman of the Vietnam Lung Association Nguyen Viet Nhung at
a press meeting on March 19 ahead of the World TB Day (March 24).

He noted that TB is a communicable but curable
disease, adding that if the TB fight receives due attention and involves
all-level authorities, sectors and the whole community, the goal of eradicating
TB by 2030 is completely achievable.

In Vietnam, up to 174,000 people are infected
with TB bacteria and 13,000 die of the disease each year. More than 100,000 TB
patients are diagnosed and sent for treatment annually.

This means the rate of detected and reported
patients is just 57 percent, Nhung said.

He added that the recovery rate is high – more
than 90 percent of new patients, 75 percent of multidrug-resistant
using long-term treatment regimens, and 80 percent of multidrug-resistant TB
patients using short-term treatment regimens.

Around the globe, the recovery rate is 85
percent among new patients and 56 percent among multidrug-resistant TB
patients.

New technologies, drugs and treatment approaches
from around the world have been applied in Vietnam and proved highly effective,
even for multidrug-resistant TB and super extensively multidrug-resistant TB
patients, according to the expert.

In response to this year’s World TB Day, due to the
complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the and
the decided to organise a teleconference on the issue
with authorities of all the 63 provincial-level localities and international
organisations.

Youth and women’s unions to combat TB will also
be set up with a view to equipping 10 million young people, 20 million women
and all primary students with knowledge and skills about TB prevention and
control. Besides, a text message campaign will also be launched to call for
donations to support a fund for TB patients./.