COLOMBO, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan health officials said on Tuesday that nearly 45 percent of the country's tuberculosis (TB) patients are in the Western Province, the most populous region, and that Colombo is the main driver of transmission nationwide.
Officials from the National Program for Tuberculosis Control and Chest Diseases made the remarks at a training program in Colombo.
They said many people contract TB in Colombo and then spread the disease to other parts of the country, making TB control in the capital an urgent priority. According to the officials, Colombo records 82 TB patients per 100,000 people.
They said adult men face a higher risk of TB than women. However, in areas under the Colombo Municipal Council, women and children also show a high rate of TB transmission, requiring special attention in control efforts.
The officials also said the program will place greater focus this year on improving outpatient department case detection in hospitals across Sri Lanka, in order to identify TB patients more efficiently. ■
