Tokyo, 3 September, /AJMEDIA/
Japan has joined countries with a “low incidence of tuberculosis” for the first time with less than 10 TB patients per 100,000 people diagnosed in 2021, the health ministry said.
However, an expert involved in the data compilation cautioned against prematurely celebrating the drop because some TB patients may not have been counted after they refrained from seeking hospital care amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The ministry said that in 2021, the number of TB cases per 100,000 population came to 9.2, the first time the number had fallen below 10 since the ministry began keeping records in the 1950s.
The World Health Organization classifies countries with fewer than 10 TB cases per 100,000 population per year as those with a low incidence of TB. In 2020, 57 countries belonged to the category.
TB became prevalent in Japan beginning in the Meiji Era (1868-1912) due to a surge in the number of factory workers, giving rise to its recognition as a national disease. Even after World War II, the proportion of people diagnosed with TB remained high, but it gradually fell in the ensuing years.
2021 saw 11,519 new TB patients nationally, down 1,220 from 2020, according to the ministry. By prefectures, the highest incidence rate was recorded in Nagasaki at 13.5 cases per 100,000 people, followed by Osaka at 13.3 cases and Tokushima at 12.9 cases.
Among the new patients, those aged 70 or older accounted for 63.6 percent of the total, making up the largest age group.
Those born outside of Japan have been making up a larger group each year, accounting for 11.4 percent in 2021. The growing trend has prompted the ministry to prepare to introduce relevant medical checks before entry into the country.
