A doctor at the Central Lung Hospital provides advice to a patient about tuberculosis (TB). — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam is one of the seven countries selected by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to research the M72 tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, according to Nguyễn Bình Hòa, Deputy Director of the Central Lung Hospital and Deputy Head of the Executive Board of the National TB Programme.

The WHO has issued recommendations to promote vaccination against the disease. To date, 16 types of TB vaccines have been studied in clinical trials, of which the research result of the M72 vaccine shows that with at least one injection, this type of vaccine has passed the WHO recommendation level with about 50 per cent protection.

According to the WHO's 2023 report, TB is still the second leading cause of death in the world among infectious diseases, only behind COVID-19. It is worth mentioning that current global goals in TB control are behind schedule.

Việt Nam is currently ranked 11th among 30 countries worldwide with the highest burden of TB and multidrug-resistant TB.

The country detected 106,086 TB patients and recorded approximately 13,000 related deaths in 2023.

The successful treatment rate is maintained at a high level of over 90 per cent.

However, Bình noted that there are still more than 40 per cent of TB patients in the community who have not been detected and treated. — VNS