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Asia News Network
24-07-2025
- Health
- Asia News Network
Bhutan sees climb in TB, HIV, and malaria cases despite strong systems
July 24, 2025 THIMPHU – The Annual Health Bulletin 2025 of the Ministry of Health (MoH) reveals clear patterns in the country's ongoing battle against infectious diseases, with tuberculosis (TB), HIV/AIDS, and malaria continuing to pose significant public health challenges. Despite robust surveillance and health infrastructure, the data indicate a mixed trend, with some diseases showing concerning increase in reported cases, demanding sustained and strategic interventions. Tuberculosis remains a persistent threat, with the number of reported cases increasing steadily over the last three years. In 2023, Bhutan registered 864 TB cases. This rose to 920 cases in 2024, reflecting a continuing burden despite the country's comprehensive TB control strategy. The National Tuberculosis Control Programme (NTCP) has been instrumental in leading these efforts, ensuring diagnostic and treatment services are accessible even in remote regions. Yet, multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), treatment non-compliance, and disease relapse remain significant challenges. In 2024 alone, there were 38 pulmonary TB relapses and 17 extrapulmonary TB relapses. The majority of TB cases in 2024 (65 percent) were pulmonary, with 552 confirmed through bacteriological testing. A substantial proportion occurred in the economically active age group, mirroring the 2023 data, which showed the highest incidence among the 15–24-year demographic, especially females. In 2023, 98 females and 72 males were diagnosed with new pulmonary bacteriologically confirmed TB, with extrapulmonary TB cases also skewing heavily towards younger females. These patterns underscore a need for age- and gender-specific interventions, improved awareness, and strengthened diagnostic coverage, particularly in youth populations. The rise in total TB cases from 809 in 2022 to 920 in 2024 reflects the ongoing struggle to fully contain transmission and the importance of maintaining high-quality treatment adherence and education efforts. HIV/AIDS trends also show a steady rise in new infections. In 2023, 61 new cases were reported, rising to 85 in 2024, bringing the cumulative number of HIV infections since 1993 to 1,020. Deaths attributed to HIV have also increased from 6 in 2023 to 21 in 2024, highlighting the disease's ongoing impact despite the country's commitment to the 95–95–95 UNAIDS targets. As of December 2024, 774 people are living with HIV in Bhutan, with 98 percent of them receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). The introduction of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in 2024 for high-risk groups in Paro and Thimphu marked a progressive step in preventive care. However, the continuous rise in new infections underscores the need to expand such measures nationwide and further strengthen HIV awareness, testing, and treatment adherence. While Bhutan has made significant strides toward malaria elimination, the 2024 data revealed an unexpected and sharp resurgence in cases, rising to 144 from just 18 in 2023 and 6 in 2022. This more than four-fold increase is attributed primarily to a large outbreak across the border in Assam, India. Bhutan's real-time surveillance and containment systems proved effective in localising the impact, with cases confined to border districts. Of the 144 cases, 71 were imported, and 73 introduced, resulting from transmission following cross-border exposure. However, none were indigenous cases, confirming that internal transmission remains effectively controlled. Plasmodium vivax accounted for approximately 95 percent of all infections. The demographic most affected by malaria in 2024 was the 15–49 age group (65 percent), which represents the most mobile and economically active section of the population. Males were disproportionately impacted (73 percent), largely due to their roles in border-related occupations such as forestry, farming, and security. This occupational exposure highlights the importance of targeted malaria interventions for high-risk groups and the need for stronger cross-border coordination to prevent future outbreaks. The absence of indigenous malaria cases supports Bhutan's continued progress toward WHO malaria elimination certification, but the sudden spike in cases in 2024 demonstrates how vulnerable even well-controlled systems remain to regional epidemiological dynamics. The latest data showing rising trends in TB, HIV/AIDS, and malaria underscores the need for more targeted and strategic interventions, despite the progress Bhutan has made in tackling these diseases.
Time of India
10-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
694 senior medical officers get appointment letters; min says 6k more docs to be hired
Patna: Health minister Mangal Pandey on Tuesday distributed appointment letters among 694 senior medical officers across Bihar. These included 447 full-time medical officers under the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM), 3 senior medical officers under the National Tuberculosis Control Programme and 145 officers deployed in nutrition rehabilitation centres, blood banks, blood collection units and district early intervention centres under the National Child Health Programme. Also, 99 second medical officers were appointed. The minister said postings were made in health institutions across all 38 districts, based on merit and vacancy availability. He added that the recruitment process for approximately 6,000 more doctors and assistant professors was on and would conclude within the next two-and-a-half months. These medical professionals will be deployed in areas facing acute shortages. He also said that Ayush practitioners would be appointed soon to improve healthcare services, while the appointment of 4,500 community health officers under NUHM would also be completed in the same timeframe. Alongside this, regular and contractual hiring of nurses, paramedics, medical officers and specialist doctors is being conducted in a mission-driven manner. Over the last 10 days alone, more than 8,800 doctors and nurses have been recruited, the minister said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Don't Bother With An Expensive Will (Do This Instead) Local Will Finder Undo This includes the appointment of 1,450 doctors and specialists, 228 of whom received appointment letters on May 31. Another 509 doctors have been appointed through bond postings. He also highlighted the appointment of 7,468 ANM nurses, the largest such recruitment since 2019. "Under the able leadership of Nitish Kumar, basic health infrastructure has significantly improved. Work is progressing rapidly to make healthcare transparent and accessible. The govt is committed to strengthening health services and expanding treatment options in its hospitals," he said.
Zawya
24-03-2025
- Health
- Zawya
Togo makes progress in the fight against tuberculosis
In January 2024, Yao*, a 67-year-old farmer living in Agou, about 100 kilometres north-west of Lomé, experienced unusual discomfort that led him to seek medical attention. These included chest pains and unexplained intense fatigue that lasted for a fortnight. Following tests, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB). 'I was surprised and very sad to find out that I had the disease. I had suffered too much and I wanted to be cured by any means necessary,' he recalls. In Togo, 30 out of every 100 000 people contracted the disease in 2023, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2024 global report on TB. The country has implemented several initiatives to improve the fight against TB, as Professor Abdou Gafarou Gbadamassi, Coordinator of Togo's National Tuberculosis Control Programme (PNLT), explains: 'Several combined interventions are enabling us to make progress in the fight against this disease, focusing in particular on case-finding, early detection, and the effective treatment of patients.' At the heart of early detection is the optimization of GeneXpert machines which enable sputum samples from patients to be rapidly tested to confirm the disease. This approach, recommended by WHO as a first-line diagnostic tool, has made a significant contribution to strengthening case detection in Togo. Until 2020, the country had only 15 GeneXpert machines across 14 sites, but this has increased to 52 sites over the past four years. Professor Gbadamassi is delighted with this development, which he says has boosted the country's progress: 'Thanks to this notable improvement in GeneXpert capacity, early case detection has been reduced from 72 to 24 hours nationwide. This is helping to move our country towards the eradication of tuberculosis. 'Other key areas in the fight against tuberculosis include community involvement to ensure patient-centred treatment, free treatment for all forms of tuberculosis, and nutritional support for the most vulnerable patients.' Thanks to the availability of a machine at the Prefectural Hospital Centre (CHP) of Agou, where Yao sought help, he was able to start treatment quickly. After the first few weeks, which he found difficult due to the high treatment dosages, he felt his condition improve. 'The medication made me very weak at first. After the first two months, I had an initial check-up and the results were negative. I had further checks in the fifth and sixth months, after which I was declared cured of tuberculosis. I suffered so much at first that I was convinced the disease would kill me!' In June 2022, a 'FAST' strategy focused on active research at four sites in the Agoè Nyivé and Golfe districts of Lomé, enabled the detection of nearly 10 000 TB cases in the period to 2024 (3041 cases in 2022, 3065 cases in 2023, and 3129 in 2024). These figures were a significant improvement on the 2312 and 2418 cased detected in 2020 and 2021 respectively. From 2020 to the end of 2023, an investigative project contributing to the elimination of TB in Africa also studied contagious patients in 35 diagnostic and treatment centres (CDTs). This allowed for early detection of TB patients and the provision of preventive chemotherapy treatment to the uninfected, including children under 15 and people living with HIV. Since 2024, this intervention has been extended to the other 55 CDTs, with the support of the Global Fund. Yorouma Djobo, CDT focal point at the Agou CHP, has seven years' experience as a health worker caring for TB patients, also providing them with essential advice. He is responsible for screening, initiating treatment, and treatment monitoring of TB patients in the Agou health district. Djobo sees an average of three TB patients every month, and emphasizes the role of the family in supporting them. 'Our role is to ensure that everyone who is screened receives the necessary treatment and recovers their health. Once the family has understood the harmful effects of the disease, they become our main support and take charge of the patient's treatment, adopting the advice given to patients in order to help them.' In 2022, Djobo was among 95 focal points trained in all aspects of TB, including paediatric TB, therapeutic patient education, management guidelines and preventive treatment. That same year, 60 laboratory technicians were trained on GeneXpert stool diagnosis, and in 2024, 65 laboratory technicians were trained in bacilloscopy diagnosis of tuberculosis. WHO's support includes the provision of experts, technical support for the development and validation of documents and guidelines, and financial assistance for key events or activities. At the end of 2023, the Organization also initiated the so-called BBNT approach (initials for Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger and Togo) as a framework for exchanging experiences in the fight against HIV, viral hepatitis, TB and malaria, supporting field visits to share best practices in these countries. For Dr Laconi Kaaga, head of the TB Control Programme at the WHO country office in Togo, the main aim of WHO's support is to ensure that 'every at-risk person has access to rapid and effective prevention, diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis'. Having regained his health and resumed his work as a farmer, Yao encourages everyone to seek medical attention if they suffer from a persistent cough, and to follow the advice of the medical staff until they are completely cured. He also has a special message for patients' families: 'My family has been essential to my recovery. Without their support, I would have died of TB! If a member of your family has this disease, stay close to them, help them to stay motivated, and never give up hope.'
