The annual number of tuberculosis (TB) patients in Taiwan fell below 10,000 for the first time last year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said.
Speaking at a Friday event to mark World Tuberculosis Day, which was yesterday, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said the figure reflects government efforts to control and treat tuberculosis, which have improved dramatically over the past decade.
Centers for Disease Control statistics showed that the number of TB patients in Taiwan has been steadily declining since 2005, dropping from 16,472 that year to 13,237 in 2010 and 10,328 in 2016, and falling to 9,754 last year.
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Yu-chin (吳玉琴), who was at the event in Taipei, said the majority of people who have TB in Taiwan are older people.
She argued that the government must increase efforts to control and prevent the disease, especially in long-term care centers for seniors, to prevent a repeat of the Lungfatang (龍發堂) scandal.
Lungfatang, a psychiatric care facility based in Kaohsiung, came under scrutiny in 2000 when multiple reports surfaced regarding its inhumane treatment of patients and outbreaks of infectious diseases, which resulted in people dying.
Stamping out tuberculosis is a long-term goal, and Taiwan still has a way to go, Wu said.
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