1,295 tuberculosis cases detected last year, says official By Nawwaf Afit RIYADH – A total of 1,295 cases of tuberculosis were registered by the authorities last year, with eight percent of the sufferers dying from the disease, according to the Director of the Ministry of Health's Chest Diseases Administration, Dr. Na'ela Abu Al-Jadayel. Speaking at workshop on tuberculosis and AIDS that was organized by the ministry's Preventive Medicine Department here Sunday, she said the ministry has a clear strategy to deal with the disease. Abu Al-Jadayel said early diagnosis will help to control the number of cases. She said there is free testing and treatment available at 2,000 health care centers, 204 government hospitals and 800 private medical complexes around the country. She said that 13,000 people who had contact with patients were examined and one percent was found to have contracted the illness. Ministry of Health Assistant Undersecretary for Preventive Medicine, Dr. Ziyad Bin Ahmad Maimash, said the ministry has a number of programs for the prevention of tuberculosis, AIDS and malaria.
