Tuberculosis (TB) has annually killed some 20,800 people in Vietnam in recent years, the Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.

Ranking the 13th among 22 countries that face most serious TB situations in the world, Vietnam is pouring 200 billion Vietnamesedong (VND) (12.7 million US dollars) this year into anti-TB programs, in a move to rapidly detect 75 percent of new infections and successfully treat at least 85 percent of patients. It is intensifying vaccination, and calling local people to keep hygienic.

Vietnam, which detected and treated more than 105,000 TB patients in 2003, has targeted to halve the current number of TB cases by 2010 and annual new TB infections by 2015.

Source: Xinhua