Maldives Records 148 Tuberculosis Cases Last Year, Says HPA
Photo: MV+
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has reported 148 cases of tuberculosis (TB) in the Maldives last year.
This announcement was made in a statement commemorating World TB Day, which aims to raise awareness about global efforts to eliminate the disease.
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The HPA highlighted that, globally, an estimated 10.8 million people were infected with TB in 2023. This figure includes six million men, 3.6 million women, and 1.3 million children. During the same period, the disease resulted in 1.2 million deaths.
The theme for World TB Day this year is “We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver.”
TB is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which spreads through the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or speaks. While some individuals carry a latent TB infection without showing symptoms, in others, the bacteria can become active, causing symptoms such as persistent coughing, fever, weight loss, and fatigue.
Although TB is curable, with most cases successfully treated through a six-month course of antibiotics, incomplete treatment can lead to drug-resistant TB. To address this, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course (DOTS) strategy, which has been implemented in the Maldives since 1994 to ensure proper diagnosis and treatment.
In 2014, the WHO adopted the “End TB” strategy, aiming to reduce TB worldwide. The Maldives has been actively working to reduce TB as a public health risk, with reports indicating that 100 islands are now free of the disease.
