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The Under Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, today (March 19) said that the overall tuberculosis (TB) notification rate has recorded a drop of more than half since the 1980s from around 150 cases to 60 cases per 100,000 population, and noted that the achievement of this significant result hinged on the co-operation between patients and medical personnel.
In Hong Kong, TB cases dropped to 4 498 in 2015 (provisional figure) from 4 705 in 2014, a historical low compared with previous years.
Speaking at the opening ceremony to mark World TB Day 2016, Professor Chan said, "All our strategic partners are indispensable and their support is an essential element in the fight against TB." She urged members of the public to work together in the efforts to combat TB.
She said that the chest clinics under the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) provide the public with TB examination and clinic treatment free of charge. The CHP's TB Laboratory has been designated as a World Health Organization (WHO) Supranational TB Reference Laboratory, providing quality support for laboratory diagnosis while the Hospital Authority (HA) provides inpatient services, isolation and treatment or special examination to TB patients to ensure timely and effective management of the disease. Moreover, a number of non-governmental organisations also contribute a lot in TB control and one of the most outstanding examples is the Hong Kong Tuberculosis, Chest and Heart Diseases Association.
Also addressing the ceremony, the Controller of the CHP, Dr Leung Ting-hung, said that the problems of TB control in Hong Kong include overcrowding, the busy population movement with neighbouring areas with high TB burden, the ageing population and rising numbers of patients with chronic illness. Moreover, senior citizens and people with chronic medical conditions are prone to developing disease after infection. All of these factors have created greater difficulties in the diagnosis and treatment of TB.
"Members of the public should maintain continued vigilance against TB and adopt a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet, avoid smoking and alcohol, and have suitable exercise and adequate rest. If symptoms develop, such as persistent cough, blood in sputum, weight loss, fever and night sweating, they should seek prompt medical advice. If diagnosed as having TB, a patient should observe respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette, and receive TB treatment under supervision," he added.
Since the 1970s, Directly Observed Treatment has been the cornerstone for TB treatment in Hong Kong, whereby patients take TB medications under the supervision of trained healthcare workers.
Dr Leung also spoke on the problem of drug-resistant TB. He pointed out that TB patients are prescribed multiple TB drugs for at least six months. Erratic or inadequate treatment can result in treatment failure and the spread of drug-resistant TB in the community.
According to the WHO's statistics, 9.6 million new TB cases were reported globally in 2014, including 1.5 million deaths.
March 24 of each year is designated as World TB Day by the WHO to urge global efforts in combating TB together. This year, the local theme is "Working together to control TB". Co-organised by the Hong Kong Tuberculosis, Chest and Heart Diseases Association, the DH and the HA, the ceremony today, which was linked with a two-day health exhibition at Fashion World in Wonderful Worlds of Whampoa, Hung Hom, aimed at promoting public awareness on TB control through exhibition boards and games. The Chairman of the Hong Kong Tuberculosis, Chest and Heart Diseases Association, Mr Steve Lan, and the HA Chief Manager (Infection, Emergency and Contingency), Dr Liu Shao-haei, also attended the ceremony.
For more TB-related information, services and figures, the public may visit the CHP's page on World TB Day (www.info.gov.hk/tb_chest/worldtbday.htm) and the website of the Tuberculosis and Chest Service (www.info.gov.hk/tb_chest), call the TB telephone hotline (2572 6024) or browse the WHO's TB page (www.who.int/tb).
Ends/Saturday, March 19, 2016
Issued at HKT 14:02
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