China's tuberculosis (TB) infection rate has been decreasing steadily over the past five years, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) on Wednesday.
The morbidity rate from TB has reduced from 71.1 in 100,000 in 2011 to 63.4 in 100,000 in 2015, said Wang Bin, deputy director of the bureau of disease prevention and control under the NHFPC.
The death rate caused by TB has also been following a downward trend, dropping from 3.01 in 100,000 in 2011 to 2.32 in 100,000 in 2014, well below the international average of 15 in 100,000 people, Wang said.
Wang said a TB prevention and treatment system is gradually taking shape, which places a particular focus on groups such as students and migrant workers.
Last year there were 34,000 students reported to have contracted TB in China, down 29 percent compared with 2011.
China has invested 7.4 billion yuan (1.1 billion U.S. dollars) on the prevention and cure of TB during the past five years, and will continue to enhance the work, according to the NHFPC.
