Tuberculosis notification rate in Malta was just 7.6 per 100,000 population over a 15 year period, the government said in a statement on the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day.

In a statement issued on the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day today, it said the TB notification and incidence rates in Malta had decreased steadily among the Malta-born population in recent decades.

In this population segment, it occurred mostly in the elderly, mainly due to reactivation of old TB.

A large proportion of TB cases in Malta were imported cases, in people coming from high TB endemic countries.

In 2016, there were 51 notified TB cases. Of these, 96% were of foreign origin. Of all TB cases with a known HIV status, 17.4% had TB/HIV co-infection.

Various systems were in place to control TB in Malta. These included:

The provision of TB treatment, free of charge, to all individuals with active and latent TB residing in Malta;

Supervision of treatment by trained care workers to ensure that the treatment was taken properly and completed;

Follow-up of TB patients by infectious disease/TB specialists throughout the course of the treatment;

Screening of all asylum seekers and persons applying for an employment licence who came from high TB endemic countries;

Screening of people working/living in high risk environments;

Investigation and contact tracing of active TB cases, for the early identification of other possible related cases, to prevent transmission;

A high-risk vaccination programme for children under five years whose parents came from high TB endemic countries.