China calls for improved TB prevention, treatment

BEIJING -- China's health authority called for an improved prevention and treatment network for tuberculosis (TB) on World TB Day on Friday.

China is among the 30 countries most heavily plagued by the disease. with about 900,000 new cases reported each year, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

The central government issued a five-year guideline on the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis last month, which vows to reduce tuberculosis cases to less than 58 per 100,000 people by 2020. The figure in 2015 was 63.4 per 100,000 people.

In the next five years, the government will improve the medical service network to ensure ordinary TB patients can be diagnosed and cured in their own counties, the commission said in a statement.

To promote early identification, the medical authority will also promote TB screening among groups prone to the disease, such as people living with HIV/AIDS, to contain the risk of outbreaks.