HÀ NỘI — Detecting tuberculosis (TB) cases early requires efforts not only of the health sector but also the entire community, attendees heard at a meeting of the National Steering Committee for TB Prevention and Control in Hà Nội on Monday.

Delegates said that new equipment, drugs, vaccines and approaches would support early detection and treatment.

They agreed on the need to step up strategic solutions, create breakthroughs in relevant laws and policies, enhance international cooperation, and intensify communication work.

The move aims to basically eliminate the disease in the country by 2030.

By 2020, Việt Nam expects to reduce 20 per cent of TB infections and 40 per cent of TB mortalities.

Nguyễn Viết Nhung, Director of the National Lung Diseases Hospital, quoted international experts as saying that Việt Nam is on the right track to wipe out the disease.

He, however, pointed out a range of challenges to the National TB Programme, such as how to ensure a sustainable source of medicines and call for public response to the work.

Statistics show that Viet Nam spots more than 100,000 TB patients, or 57 per cent of the total cases each year. The country has a high TB cure rate (90 per cent) compared with the world’s average (56 per cent).

A World Health Organisation (WHO) report said the country recorded 174,000 new TB cases in 2018, with about 11,000 fatalities. — VNS