Tuberculosis (TB) is a major global public health
problem, about 9.6 million cases were reported as newly
diagnosed TB and about 13 million cases were reported
as active TB patients in 2015. Most of the cases occur in
lower middle-income countries1
. This is an infectious
disease caused by an organism called Mycobacterium
tuberculosis. Locally known as ‘Jakkha’ or ‘Khoy Rog’,
it is also one of the most important health threats of
Bangladesh, and this country ranks sixth among the top
twenty-two high burden countries (HBC) of tuberculosis
by World Health Organization (WHO)2
. Moreover,
Multidrug-Resistant TB (MDR-TB) is increasing, the
majority of the childhood TB is not reported1
.
Combating TB was part of one of the goals of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) it was placed under health
related targets to reduce its epidemics3
. The target has
been set to reduce TB incidence and TB-related deaths
by 90% and 95% respectively in the year 2035 in
comparison to 2015.