Tuberculosis (TB) remains to be the second most prevalent and the number one killer among infectious diseases in Sri Lanka, Dr. Amali Senanayake, Medical Officer, National Program For Tuberculosis Control and Chest Diseases said
The National Program for Tuberculosis Control & Chest Diseases (NPTCCD), together with the district level chest clinic staff works towards controlling the burden of TB in the country and in ending TB in Sri Lanka by 2035.
Each year about 8,000-9,000 new cases of TB are diagnosed and reported to the NPTCCD. However, compared to World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates, which is around 13000, a gap of approximately 4000-5000 in detection of incident cases usually exists over the years.
When considering the country situation all TB patients detected in 2019 was 8434. In 2018, 567 (6.4 percent) patients died due to TB.