18,335 Tuberculosis Patients in Korea... Halved Over 10 Years

51.3% of New Patients Are Aged 65 or Older... "Regular Checkups Needed"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] In 2021, the number of new tuberculosis patients in South Korea was 18,335, showing a decrease of 8.0% compared to the previous year and 53.6% compared to ten years ago.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced the '2021 Tuberculosis Patient Report Status' on the 24th in commemoration of the '12th Tuberculosis Prevention Day.' Since 2011, March 24 has been designated as Tuberculosis Prevention Day annually under the Tuberculosis Prevention Act to raise awareness of the importance of tuberculosis prevention.

The number of tuberculosis patients in South Korea peaked at 39,577 in 2011 and has since decreased by an average of 7.4% annually. The largest decline was in 2020, with a 16.3% decrease compared to the previous year.

By age group, 51.3% (9,406 patients) of all new patients in 2021 were aged 65 or older. Comparing the incidence rate of new tuberculosis patients per 100,000 population, those aged 65 and above (109.7) were 5.2 times higher than those under 65 (20.9). The proportion of tuberculosis patients aged 65 and above has been increasing annually: 41.9% in 2017 → 47.1% in 2019 → 49.1% in 2020 → 51.3% in 2021.

In particular, 58.2% of patients with smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis, which has a high bacterial load and transmission potential, were aged 65 or older. Smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis refers to cases where tuberculosis bacteria are confirmed by spreading the patient's sputum thinly on a glass slide, staining it, and observing it under a microscope.

Accordingly, the KDCA suggested that early detection through more active tuberculosis screening is necessary as the proportion of tuberculosis patients aged 65 and above is increasing due to population aging.

The government is currently implementing comprehensive measures aiming to enter the tuberculosis eradication phase by 2030. Previously, the '2nd Tuberculosis Management Comprehensive Plan' was established for 2018 to 2022, and in 2019, the 'Strengthened Tuberculosis Prevention and Management Measures' were announced. The comprehensive measures include ▲eliminating blind spots through tuberculosis screening for vulnerable groups ▲strengthening cost support and management systems for early detection and treatment ▲thorough investigation and management of contacts with a high risk of developing the disease.

Jung Eun-kyung, Commissioner of the KDCA, stated, "We are making all-out efforts for tuberculosis eradication through inter-ministerial cooperation, including school tuberculosis management (Ministry of Education), workplace tuberculosis management (Ministry of Employment and Labor), tuberculosis management for foreigners (Ministry of Justice), and latent tuberculosis infection management for military service examination candidates (Military Manpower Administration)."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.