TB kills 107 people per day in Bangladesh
Detecting tuberculosis during the pandemic is a challenge according to the Global Tuberculosis Report 2020
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a public health concern as 107 people die from the infectious disease while 987 are diagnosed with the disease in Bangladesh every day, according to the Global Tuberculosis Report 2020.
Additionally, it reports that the country's existing diagnosis coverage misses 247 patients per day.
The information was revealed Monday at a roundtable in Dhaka. The program was jointly organised by the National Tuberculosis Control Programme, Bangladesh Health Reporters' Forum and Brac.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
According to the report, Bangladesh remains among the 30 top TB burden countries in the world despite making progress in controlling the disease.
At the programme, Director General of the Health Directorate Professor Dr Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam emphasised the importance of widening TB screening coverage to strengthen the government's TB-related health services in rural areas.
The report read that the success rate of treatment for all types of tuberculosis is around 96% when patients take the medicine regularly for a certain period of time.
The report said there is no alternative to ramping up TB testing to continue this success rate in the current Covid-19 situation.
Line Director of the National Tuberculosis Control Programme Prof Dr Shamiul Islam, who joined the programme as the special guest, said, "Diagnosing tuberculosis is the biggest challenge for us. We could continue the 96% success in tuberculosis treatment if the tests were ramped up."
Dr Shamiul credited awareness raising campaigns carried out by the media and public-private partnerships for the success in controlling the disease in Bangladesh.
According to the report, 292,942 patients have been diagnosed with tuberculosis in Bangladesh. It has an incidence rate of 221 cases per lakh people and a mortality rate of 24 people per lakh.
