Alarmed by the recent resurgence of tuberculosis, the Health and Welfare Ministry on Monday declared a state of emergency to combat the disease and raise public awareness about the nation's former No. 1 killer.
"TB in Japan is on the verge of becoming more rampant as a re-emerging infectious disease," Health and Welfare Minister Sohei Miyashita told a meeting of representatives from 28 organizations including hospitals, nursing homes and local governments.
The declaration, the first in Japan, emphasizes the need for all Japanese to fight TB and urges health care workers to pay more attention to the bacteria. "The erroneous idea that TB is a thing of the past is one being carried not only by the general public, but also by people engaged in medical treatment and administration," the declaration says.