SUVA, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- A total of 312 people were treated for tuberculosis in Fiji in 2016 and the number of cases was growing, the Ministry of Health has disclosed.
Alex O'Connor, assistant minister of health, said tuberculosis remains an important disease of public health concern for Fijian health authorities.
He said tuberculosis was entirely curable, however, sadly in most communities it was often left unnoticed or a person was unaware that he/she had TB until they presented themselves to the health center or nursing station.
Loma Yavala, the national TB program control officer, said Fiji's number of cases was expected to increase to about 400 to 500 by the end of 2017.
Yavala said the ministry was aware that the staff serving TB patients were vulnerable and had a high possibility of getting infected by the bacteria.
She said fortunately they had TB services in Fiji and partners through the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Global Fund that organized training for health professionals to help health workers in this area.
