For the past month, Ms. D.CH (36 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City) has had a persistent cough. Every time she coughs, she buys medicine to take but it doesn't go away. When she went to Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital (Ho Chi Minh City), she was diagnosed with tuberculosis, luckily her condition was mild. "My job is mainly in the office, I don't know how I got tuberculosis" - Ms. H. said.
For a long time, many people thought that tuberculosis was a disease of the poor and those with inadequate living conditions. In fact, this disease does not exclude anyone because it is spread through the air. People who work in an environment that can be said to be quite clean, in an air-conditioned room like Ms. H. is a typical case.
Dr. Nguyen Huu Lan, Director of Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital (HCMC), said that tuberculosis has existed for more than 6,000 years, but to date, there is no country that does not have people suffering from tuberculosis and dying from this disease. About 1/3 of the world's population is infected with tuberculosis. In 2021, there were 10.6 million people with tuberculosis worldwide and 450,000 new cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis. Tuberculosis has the heaviest impact on the poor and vulnerable in society and causes extreme poverty.
Vietnam is one of the countries with a heavy tuberculosis epidemic. In 2021, Vietnam ranked 11th among the 30 countries with the highest tuberculosis burden in the world and 11th among the 30 countries with the highest multidrug-resistant tuberculosis burden in the world. Worryingly, 70% of people with tuberculosis are of working age.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health , from April to October 2021, due to social distancing, the number of people coming to test their sputum to detect tuberculosis decreased by 23.8%, leading to a decrease of more than 18% in the detected source of infection and a decrease of 15.8% in the total number of tuberculosis patients coming for treatment.
"When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, it was truly a disaster. According to statistics, in 2021, the rate of detected TB reported decreased by 22% compared to 2019 and decreased by 24.5% compared to 2020. This led to an increase in the number of TB cases in the community that were not detected, treated or treated incorrectly, causing more severe TB and more dangerous drug-resistant TB" - Dr. Lan worried.
Together to defeat tuberculosis
On the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day, March 24, Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital (HCMC) organized a communication campaign with the theme "Vietnam wins against tuberculosis".
At the event's communication session, Dr. Nguyen Huu Hung, Deputy Director of the Department of Health, requested departments, organizations, authorities at all levels, People's Committees of districts and Thu Duc City... to continue to accompany the health sector in strengthening communication to raise people's awareness of the harmful effects and impacts of tuberculosis.
In addition, the leaders of the Department of Health requested that localities review and improve the tuberculosis examination and treatment system through health insurance that the city had previously prepared to best serve tuberculosis patients.
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