10 Underscoring Events of TB-Prevention and Anti-TB in Vietnam in 2023

 In the first 9 months of 2023, the Vietnam’s National TB Program (NTP for short) detected 78,674 cases of tuberculosis of all types/ 7,6 million cases worldwide. 

 Thus, the number of people with tuberculosis in Vietnam increased by 1,909 patients, equivalent to an increase of 2% over the same period in 2022 and an increase of 19,214 (32.3%) over the same period in 2021 - the year most heavily affected by the epidemic COVID-19. 

Detection of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in the first 9 months of 2023 is 2,764 patients, 9%, 44% and 4% higher than in 2020, 2021, 2022, respectively. 

Application of new treatment regimen for drug-resistant tuberculosis/multidrug-resistant tuberculosis BPaL/BPaLM, reducing treatment time from 9-20 months to 6-9 months. 

Releasing the book "Guidelines for implementing activities to detect tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis applying the 2X strategy" (released nationwide from February 2023). 

Since 2020, the 2X Strategy (chest X-ray to detect suspected TB cases and Gene Xpert testing) has been applied in TB screening, with the goal of increasing the rate of detecting TB and latent TB, reducing screening costs. 

 
New initiatives and access models to TB Screening:  

Piloting two new tuberculosis screening methods, namely tongue smear and using urine to find MTB bacteria, at a number of medical facilities in 4 provinces and cities with the highest number of new and recurrent cases, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and An Giang.

Prioritizing the development of new TB-prevent vaccines, being one of 7 countries actively participating in phase 3 clinical trials of the M72 tuberculosis vaccine 

According to Major General Nguyen Viet Hung, C10, Ministry of Police, Vietnam, "In prisons, the rate of prisoners suffering from tuberculosis, tuberculosis/HIV, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, HIV infection, hepatitis B, C and other infectious diseases is about 10 times higher than outside the community.” 
 

In the first 11 months of 2023, prisons under Department C10 coordinated with the provincial tuberculosis program to organize periodic tuberculosis screening for 22 prisons with over 60,000 prisoners to improve the effectiveness of tuberculosis prevention at the prison. 

Tuberculosis still receives less attention than HIV – even though it is the biggest cause of death in people living with HIV, with more than a quarter of HIV-related deaths (167,000 - globally) directly related to HIV. followed by tuberculosis. 

The NTP has also successfully transferred payment for tuberculosis drugs from the State Budget to the Health Insurance Fund, as well as mobilized support from the Ministry of Health to apply payment support policies. other services on tuberculosis examination and treatment through Health Insurance funds in a convenient and effective way. 

In 2023, the National Tuberculosis Control Programme (NTP) of Vietnam initially achieved positive achievements in applying AI tuberculosis diagnosis.  

Ultilizing AI-powered solution, such as DrAid™ for TB Screening by VinBrain, brings great significance to TB detection activities, especially TB cases that are easily missed or difficult to access. 

 Let's find out how AI is applied in the 2X proactive screening process in the next article! 

Read more about AI technology to screen tuberculosis in the community: https://vinbrain.net/vinbrain-draid-mang-cong-nghe-chan-doan-y-te-ai-cho-hang-ty-nguoi