The Macau Health Bureau (SSM) said in a weekend statement that it registered 316 new tuberculosis (TB) patients in Macau last year, among which 46 percent were elderly persons aged 65 years or above.
The bureau made the announcement in a statement on Saturday, on the eve of yesterday’s World Tuberculosis Day initiated by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
According to the statement, the city’s success rate in the treatment of TB has averaged nearly 95 percent over the past two decades, exceeding the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) requirement of 85 percent.
The statement noted that according to the WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2023, 10.6 million people were diagnosed with tuberculosis worldwide in 2022, 1.3 million of whom died of the disease. The statement pointed out that the world is facing the threat of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), and TB remains the deadliest infectious disease worldwide.
The statement also said that Macau’s incidence rate of tuberculosis has constantly been declining over the past 20 years or so. For every 100,000 people in Macau, 109.1 people were diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1998, while the incidence rate dropped to 46.2 for every 100,000 people last year, representing a decrease of 57.7 percent during the 25-year period, the statement said, adding that the local drug resistance rate remains at a low level of around two percent.
According to the statement, TB is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, with more than 90 percent of patients developing the disease in the lungs. Other parts of the body, such as the pleura*, lymph nodes, bones and intestines, can also be infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the statement said.
The disease is mainly airborne, the statement said, adding that inhalation of infected droplets from coughing, sputum, sneezing or talking loudly may lead to infection and development of TB. Therefore, early detection and treatment can effectively control the disease and minimise complications.
In addition, the bureau said that it has set up a raft of regular TB tests in nursing and rehabilitation homes, and it also encouraged employers to periodically schedule X-rays for non-resident workers including domestic helpers.
The bureau suggested residents with suspected symptoms such as persistent coughing for more than two weeks, coughing up sputum or blood in sputum, chest and back pain, weight loss, afternoon fever, night sweats, among others, should seek medical advice as soon as possible.
* A thin layer of tissue that covers the lungs and lines the interior wall of the chest cavity. – Source: NIH
This poster provided by the Macau Health Bureau (SSM) on Saturday urges members of the public to pay
close attention to the threat of tuberculosis (TB).
