South Korea: Nearly 40,000 newly infected with TB in 2012
Korea recorded 40,000 new cases of tuberculosis (TB) infections last year, a government report showed Sunday, hinting the country still needs more attention on the disease usually found in developing countries.
According to a report released by the Ministry of Health and
Welfare, a total of 49,532 people were reported as TB patients
in 2012. Among them, 39,545 were cases of new infections.
The
number of male patients was some 30 percent higher than that of
female patients.
By age, 16,033 of the new TB patients were between 20 to 40
years, accounting for 40.5 percent of the entire new TB cases
last year. Patients older than 65 years marked 32.4 percent of
the new patient figures.
Among the new cases recorded
last year, 78.6 percent had pulmonary TB. Some 40 percent of the
pulmonary TB patients turned out to have active TB infections,
which spread through phlegm or cough.
It said 229
were infected with the so-called “super TB,” which
is resistant to more than four types of medications.
Lee
Deok-hyoung, deputy director of the Korea Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, said that multiple approaches are
required to eradicate the disease from the country.
“Korea
has the highest number of TB patients among the member states of
OECD. As the report shows, the country still needs efforts, such
as thorough patient management and early-stage monitoring of
primary infections, to eradicate the disease.”
In
2012, meanwhile, the number of expats with TBs stood at 1,510,
representing almost a 10 fold increase from a decade ago.
Rep.
Kim Jung-rok of the ruling Saenuri Party said, “Many
foreign workers and multicultural family members are overlooked
from medical checkups which they deserve. The government should
bolster its medical supports on them to allow more expats to
receive TB examinations.”
Source:
Korea Times
