BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Tuesday marks World Tuberculosis (TB) Day. In China, the deadly infectious disease has killed millions over the past decades, but is now being brought under better control through improved treatment and prevention.

According to the World Health Organization's (WHO's) World TB Report 2025, the total TB incidence in China dropped significantly to 49 per 100,000 population in 2024. This has made China a country with moderate to low TB prevalence.

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION

Medical professionals say technological innovation is important, as throughout the long fight between humans and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, each technological breakthrough has led to substantial declines in TB incidence and mortality.

"To win the battle against TB, technological innovation must be placed in a prominent position," said Li Liang, president of Beijing Chest Hospital affiliated with Capital Medical University, at a recent seminar on the role of technological innovation in TB control.

At the seminar, a biotech company introduced its tongue swab-based testing product, which can serve as an alternative to the traditional sputum testing method for patients who produce little or no sputum. It is China's first approved PCR test kit for TB based on tongue swab samples.

Researchers also shared progress on the innovative TB vaccine development. In March 2025, China's first domestically developed mRNA TB vaccine began clinical trials, and it is believed to offer greater protective efficacy than the BCG vaccine.

Pang Yu, a leading member of the vaccine development team at Beijing Chest Hospital, said preliminary clinical studies had shown promising immune cell response data among trial participants.

"Larger-scale clinical trials will be carried out this year, and we hopefully will contribute a Chinese solution to global TB control," Pang said.

PREVENTIVE TREATMENT

According to Gao Lei, vice chairman and secretary-general of the Chinese Antituberculosis Association, preventive treatment remains the most direct way to reduce TB incidence and achieve the global goal of ending tuberculosis.

He noted that China's TB control is at a critical stage of strategic adjustment, shifting its approach focused on early detection, treatment and care to one that also emphasizes screening close contacts and providing treatment to people with latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

China began to establish a comprehensive network for TB preventive treatment in 2021, with related technical guidelines and national guidelines released in recent years.

According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), from 2021 to 2024, the number of people receiving preventive therapy rose from 22,778 to 87,034, covering key groups such as household close contacts, students, and people living with HIV.

Preventive treatment efforts in Jiangsu Province, including high-tech assisted TB screening among high-risk groups, and specialized clinics providing both medical care and education to improve TB awareness, were presented as an illustrative example of "how a comprehensive approach to TB preventive treatment services can be put in place" in the World TB Report 2025.

According to a national TB control plan for the period 2024-2030, China aims to reach a preventive treatment coverage for close contacts of 80 percent by 2030.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

However, China is still among the countries with a high TB burden, accounting for 6.5 percent of all estimated incident cases worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO TB report.

Drug-resistant TB is a major challenge for the country to further control the disease, according to Zhang Hui, a senior researcher at the TB prevention and control center of the China CDC.

At the end of 2025, pretomanid, a specialized medicine for treating drug-resistant TB -- caused by bacteria resistant to at least one TB treatment drug -- was added to China's national reimbursement drug list.

This came a year after the drug was approved in China. Pretomanid has proven to be highly effective in treating drug-resistant TB, while its cost for a six-month regimen could be about 90,000 yuan (13,080 U.S. dollars) before it was included in the reimbursement list.

Two other medications for drug-resistant TB, bedaquiline and delamanid, had previously been included in the reimbursement list.

Meanwhile, medical professionals and officials believe that the financial support should be further expanded to ease the burden on patients, many of whom are from disadvantaged groups.

"Patients with drug-resistant TB, a notifiable infectious disease, should not be denied treatment due to inability to pay," epidemiologist Zhang Wenhong told the media earlier, noting that it is necessary to strengthen insurance coverage for medications.

Liu Xiaoqing, deputy director of the disease control and prevention bureau of Jiangxi Province, where TB incidence remains relatively high, noted that the aforementioned three TB drugs are currently classified as Class B under the reimbursement list.

This means the cost of these drugs is not fully covered, and patients are required to pay a certain proportion out of pocket. He therefore suggested that the three drugs be moved to Class A, so that the cost can be fully covered in the reimbursement scope.

Liu also suggested establishing a special fund for drug-resistant TB prevention and control to ensure related medications are fully accessible to all patients.