Tuberculosis incidence rate in Egypt falls to 11 cases per 100,000 people: Health Ministry

CAIRO – 24 March 2022: Tuberculosis incidence rate in Egypt fell from 15,000 cases per 100,000 people in 2015 to only 11 cases in 2021, said the Egyptian Ministry of Health, marking the World Tuberculosis Day, observed by the World Health Ogranization (WHO) on 24 March each year.

The national tuberculosis control program in Egypt provides early detection services through 33 hospitals and 131 chest diseases clinics spread across all governorates, Health Ministry Spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said on Thursday.

Those health facilities are equipped and supplied with all diagnostic and therapeutic means to discover and treat tuberculosis cases at various levels through a well-trained team, Abdel Ghaffar affirmed.

Diagnostic and treatment services were provided to 8,238 tuberculosis patients, of whom 61 percent are adult males, 33 percent are adult females, and 6 percent are children under 14 years old, Abdel Ghaffar said, adding that they are treated with first-in-class drugs that the ministry provides free of charge.

A number of 14 campaigns for early detection of tuberculosis were carried out among the groups most at risk of infection, the ministry spokesman said, noting that 29,600 cases were examined and 12,91 chest x-rays were performed.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious bacterial airborne disease that primarily affects the lungs but can also affect other body parts, including bones and nervous system. The disease, however, is curable and preventable.

According to WHO, more than 4,100 people globally lose their lives to TB and around 28,000 people become infected with the disease.

Since 2000, an estimated 66 million people have been saved from the deadly disease thanks to the global efforts to combat TB. However, TB deaths increased in 2020 in light of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has reversed years of progress made in the fight to end TB,” the WHO said.

This year, the World TB Day comes under the theme: “Invest to End TB. Save Lives.”