The Anhui Provincial Health Disease Control Departments have confirmed 29 cases of tuberculosis, including 26 students and three teachers who all from the same high school located in Xuan Cheng. The local health and epidemic prevention departments are administering the treatment of patients.
Tuberculosis in China
For China, the country with the world’s second largest tuberculosis epidemic, tuberculosis is a major public health problem. Progress in tuberculosis control was slow during the 1990s. Detection of the disease stagnated at around 30% of the estimated total of new cases, and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis was a major problem. In 2003, after the SARS epidemic was brought under control, the government increased its commitment to tackle public health problems and, among other efforts, increased public health funding; revised laws that concerned the control of infectious disease; implemented the world's largest internet-based disease reporting system to improve transparency, reach and speed; and started a program to rebuild local public health facilities and national infrastructure.
These measures contributed to the acceleration of efforts to control tuberculosis. By 2005, the detection of cases of tuberculosis had increased to 80% of the estimated total new cases, permitting China to achieve the 2005 global tuberculosis control targets. At the same time, specific efforts to improve tuberculosis control also contributed to strengthening of the public health system. Anti-tuberculosis drugs have been distributed to all students and teachers at the school after the outbreak of TB. According to the provincial health department, antibiotics have been distributed and the current outbreak is being controlled.
