Bangladesh

[Snowy Owl]

Around 70,000 people die of TB in the country every year
</TD></TR><TR><TD width="100%"></TD></TR><TR><TD width="100%">5/18/2007
http://www.financialexpress-bd.com/index3.asp?cnd=5/18/2007&section_id=3&newsid=61495&spcl=no​

MANIKGANJ, May 17 (UNB): Around 70,000 people die of tuberculosis (TB) and over 0.3 million are afflicted every year in the country.

Bangladesh ranks sixth out of 22 countries with high numbers of TB patients declared by World Health Organisation (WHO).

This was disclosed at a roundtable titled "Cooperation of Mass Media in Controlling TB" jointly organised by Health Directorate, Health and Family Welfare Ministry, BRAC, and Manikganj Press Club at civil surgeon's office auditorium in Manikganj Monday.

Civil Surgeon M Jamaluddin said: "TB is a viral disease, it poses serious health problem for Bangladesh and most of the TB patients could be cured within six months after proper diagnosis."

Bikash Chandra Tarafdar of Sadar Hospital stated that experimental work on TB began at Sadar Upazila of the district in 1984 and 10,238 TB patients were detected in seven upazilas of the district until 2005. Of them, 9,316 patients were cured and most of the rest 922 patients did not complete treatment.

Regional Health Coordinator of BRAC, Manikganj, Swapan Kumar Biswas said about 1,497 TB patients were detected in 2006 here and 1,467 of them were cured, six died and 24 others did not take treatment.
A total of 30 journalists, representatives of civil society and NGO officials took part in the roundtable.