Tuberculosis, a communicable disease that has been commonly linked to poverty and unsanitary living conditions, is making a troubling comeback in Japan. The situation has become so worrisome that the Ministry of Health and Welfare issued a tuberculosis emergency declaration Monday, warning the nation not to take the disease lightly. The ministry urged all government bodies, local authorities, medical institutions and the public to be prepared and take all preventive measures.

The ministry, on its part, has set up a special liaison office consisting of representatives from medical associations, central and local government bodies in order to coordinate strategy and build a nationwide network to carry out TB prevention measures. Specifically, the ministry will turn the various government-run hospitals and sanatoriums into medical centers for the treatment of tuberculosis, particularly those strains that are resistant to drugs.

Behind the flurry of government moves is a steady rise in the incidence of new TB cases in Japan, particularly among elderly people, along with an outbreak of TB in hospitals and schools. Tuberculosis subsided in Japan as living standards and public hygiene made major advances in the 1960s and 1970s. Yet, in the 1980s, the pace of contraction slowed and by 1997, the number of new patients increased by about 200 over the previous year, the first rise in more than 30 years. The ministry reports that each year tuberculosis infects more than 40,000 people in Japan and claims about 2,700 lives. The incidence of infection is 33 per 100,000 people, far higher than the 10 or less per 100,000 people in the United States and Europe.