1st Ld-Writethru: China issues guideline on tuberculosis prevention, treatment

China's central government has issued a guideline on the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis.

The guideline, which is for the 2016 to 2020 period, was issued by the General Office of the State Council.

China aims 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.

Around 900,000 new cases of tuberculosis are reported in China every year. There has, however, been a decline in tuberculosis cases and mortality in China in the past years, while progress in tuberculosis control has been slow in central and western China as well as rural regions.

From 2011 to 2015, 4.27 million patients were diagnosed with active tuberculosis nationwide, and more than 85 percent of them were cured.

China aims to cure over 90 percent of its tuberculosis patients by 2020, according to the guideline, adding that more than 90 percent of people infected with HIV/AIDS will receive tuberculosis tests by 2020.

The document called for early identification and better medical services for people with tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis patients in poverty should receive proper treatment and aid through health insurance and government assistance programs, according to the document.

It also called for improved management among groups prone to the disease, and better treatment for people living with both tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS to contain the risk of outbreaks. Endi