Costa Rica is today among the 15 countries in America with the fewest notified cases of tuberculosis per year, with about 500, which is why it continues as a candidate for the elimination of this disease by 2035.
World Tuberculosis Day
Regarding World Tuberculosis Day, the Ministry of Health affirms that the number of cases detected annually has maintained a downward trend in the last decade. Despite the fact that tuberculosis is one of the infections that causes the most deaths in the world and its elimination seems to be far in some regions, Costa Rica has managed to gradually reduce the number of cases each year.
Therefore, it continues to maintain the possibilities of reaching the goal proposed by the Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization (PAHO / WHO) of eliminating the disease in its territory by 2035.
Aarón Agüero, from the Health Surveillance Directorate and member of the National Tuberculosis Commission, pointed out that the control of this disease has been possible thanks to the implementation of the international strategies adopted by the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) and supported by the Ministry of Health and PAHO.
He explained that the work in recent years focused on prevention, diagnosis, treatment supervised by health personnel and active search for cases in the areas with the highest incidence.
Also, he referred the detection in specific populations that are more susceptible to contracting this disease, such as people deprived of liberty, indigenous population, people living with HIV / AIDS, migrant population, and street dwellers, among others’.
Joint effort
In correspondence with the international motto of the anniversary this 2021: ‘Time is running, it is time to put an end to tuberculosis’, PAHO, the Ministry of Health and the Social Security – in charge of public health in Costa Rica – call the population and health personnel to join efforts and stop transmission and achieve the elimination of tuberculosis.
The PAHO representative in Costa Rica, María Dolores Pérez, indicated that the Region of the Americas is at the forefront in the elimination of tuberculosis worldwide. Therefore, she stressed, one should not lower the guard and maintain essential tuberculosis services during the COVID-19 Pandemic so as not to reverse what has been achieved so far.
Strong statistics
PAHO / WHO data show that every day about 30 thousand people around the world contract this disease and approximately four thousand die from it. Every March 24, World Tuberculosis Day is celebrated to raise awareness about the impact of the disease around the world and the need to move towards its elimination.
