140,000 TB patients die every year

JAKARTA: An estimated 140,000 out of 583,000 tuberculosis sufferers in Indonesia die every year compared to 2 million worldwide, a Health Ministry official has said.

"The number of TB sufferers in Indonesia has reached 583,000 a year and 262,000 of them have positive saliva capable of spreading the disease to other people," acting director general for contagious disease control and environmental health, Sri Astuti Suparmanto, said on Friday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the number of TB sufferers worldwide to be 8 million.

The high mortality rate of TB sufferers in Indonesia is closely linked to the fact that they are reluctant to go to health centers, Sri added.

She said the government has made anti-TB drugs in every health service center available to TB sufferers free of charge.

By taking the drugs for six consecutive months, through the so-called "DOTS" (Directly, Observed Treatment, Short-Course), TB sufferers will recover from their disease, she said. --Antara