48 Kuwaitis among 411 TB cases in 2015

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KUWAIT CITY, March 24, (KUNA): Some 48 Kuwaitis are among 411 people diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) in 2015, a senior Health Ministry official said on Thursday. The ministry’s Public Health Department Director Dr Yousuf Mendakar revealed the figures during a ceremony marking the World Tuberculosis Day, March 24. TB patients constitute about 9.7 percent of each 100,000 people, of the total population in Kuwait, about 4,239,279 million, he added.

According to Mendakar, the rate among Kuwaitis, who are about 1,308,093 million of the population, hit 3.7 percent among each 100,000 people. As for expats, the rate is 12.4 percent in each 100,000 people. Mendakar highlighted government efforts to face the disease five decades ago. In 1956, the Health Ministry opened the TB Prevention Unit, which is considered the first defense line against the disease through early detection. He also pointed to the specialized pulmonary rehabilitation center established in 2012.

In addition, Kuwait was the first country in the Gulf region that designed a program for examining migrant labor, which was later adopted by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in 19

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