In 2024, 9180 tuberculosis patients were reported in the country, of which 93% were newly diagnosed patients, according to the National Program on Tuberculosis and Chest Diseases.
Accordingly, 75% of the patients reported for the first time were pulmonary tuberculosis patients, and between 60%-65% of them were patients with germs in the mucus.
Meanwhile, according to the latest data report on tuberculosis deaths in the country for 2023, 733 people died that year.
This is 7.9% of the total number of patients, and tuberculosis deaths are increasing, says Dr. Misaya Kader, a specialist at the National Program on Tuberculosis and Chest Diseases.
Speaking at a media briefing held at the Health Promotion Bureau yesterday (12) to mark World Tuberculosis Day, which falls on the 24th, she pointed out that the number of tuberculosis patients reported is high in the age group above 55 years.