Tuberculosis (TB) might sound like a disease from the past, but it’s still a modern-day challenge. Every day in 2023, nearly 30,000 people around the world fell ill with TB, and 3,500 lost their lives, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
In China, efforts are ramping up to tackle this global health issue. The country is rolling out a national plan for TB prevention and treatment from 2024 to 2030. This ambitious plan focuses on strengthening local healthcare capabilities and ensuring everyone has access to basic services.
“TB prevention and control is a systemic project that requires the collective efforts of the whole society,” said Zhao Yanlin, director of China’s National Center for Tuberculosis Control and Prevention at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
One of the biggest hurdles is drug-resistant TB, which doesn’t respond to the usual treatments. In 2023, China had an estimated 29,000 cases of multidrug-resistant TB, accounting for 7.3% of the global total and ranking fourth worldwide.
“Drug-resistant TB has longer treatment and transmission periods, more complex regimens, higher costs, and lower patient compliance,” explained Zhang Hui, deputy director of the National Center for Tuberculosis Control and Prevention.
To combat this, China is taking steps to standardize treatment for TB patients, promote short-course oral regimens, and reduce the economic burden on patients. Technological advancements are playing a key role. Innovations like tongue-swab rapid testing and artificial intelligence-based computer-aided detection (AI-CAD) are reaching or even surpassing international standards.
At a recent seminar in Beijing, experts and media gathered to discuss strategies to accelerate the end of the TB epidemic. Supported by the Global Health Drug Discovery Institute and the Gates Foundation, and hosted by the Center for Social Media Research of Peking University, the seminar highlighted the importance of new technologies in TB diagnosis, treatment, and vaccination.
The fight against TB is far from over, but with new technologies and collaborative efforts, there’s hope for a future where TB is a thing of the past.
