Liu Qing, an official at the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration, delivers a speech on Saturday. [Provided to China Daily]
The annual reduction rate of tuberculosis cases in China since 2021 has reached 3 percent, doubling the global average level, health authorities said recently.
Liu Qing, an official at the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration, said at a recent conference that China's TB epidemic has been trending downward steadily and the mortality rate has remained at a relatively low level thanks to consistent financial investment and comprehensive disease control efforts.
The central leadership invested 1.27 billion yuan ($175 million) in tackling TB last year, compared with 40 million yuan in 2001, Liu said during an event held on Saturday ahead of this year's World Tuberculosis Day on Monday.
Meanwhile, China has included TB under a support mechanism in 2021 to improve reimbursement of outpatient medical expenses linked to chronic and special diseases, aiming to alleviate the financial burden on TB patients, said Liu.
Official data also reveals that China has identified and treated over 8 million pulmonary TB patients since 2012, maintaining a treatment success rate above 90 percent.
However, Liu emphasized that China still carries the third-highest burden globally, stressing the need for more efforts to strengthen active detection and standard management of TB patients, as well as promote the use of new prevention and control tools.
Wang Jianwei, director general of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, makes a speech on Saturday. [Provided to China Daily]
Wang Jianwei, director general of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that in China the number of new pulmonary TB cases has consistently ranked the second-highest among all major infectious diseases, and drug-resistant TB infections remain a challenge.
China released an action plan last year aimed at further reducing TB incidence rates, maintaining a low death rate, and reducing the financial burden on patients by 2030.
Wang said that the China CDC will advance research into novel diagnostic technologies to speed up the diagnosis of new TB cases, especially those resistant to regular treatment regimens, and strive for breakthroughs in developing new vaccines.
Additionally, Wang called for intensified efforts in active screening and preventive treatment, particularly among the elderly, students and other high-risk groups. He suggested leveraging big data and artificial intelligence to build smart surveillance and early warning systems.
"Education campaigns aimed at improving awareness and health literacy should also be rolled out," Wang said, adding that it is important to exchange experiences in tackling TB with the rest of the world.
Zhou Wenbo contributed to this story.
