China has made great achievements in controlling tuberculosis, a senior health official of the nation told a side-gathering on May 23 during the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland.

Mao Qunan, director of the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau of China's National Health Commission, speaks at the assembly. 

In 2017, the reported incidence of tuberculosis in China was 60.5 out of 100,000, a decrease of 14.3 percent compared to 2012, said Mao Qunan, director of the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau of China's National Health Commission.

The annual rate of decline is approximately 3 percent, which is faster than the global average, he added.

The tuberculosis mortality rate in China was 2.8 out of 100,000 in 2017, said Mao. It is basically in the same level as that in developed countries.

The prevention and treatment of tuberculosis is included in China’s Healthy China 2030 agenda.

To fight against the disease, China has established a multiple system connecting the government, different departments and the whole society, according to Mao.

In China, over 98 percent of newborns receive vaccines against the disease.

More than 95 percent of patients with tuberculosis are discovered, and the rate of cure is above 85 percent.

China is willing to conduct more bilateral international academic exchanges and cooperation and share experiences in controlling tuberculosis with other countries, noted Mao.