To commemorate the World Health Organization’s (WHO) “Unite to End TB" campaign along with the conclusion of the Taiwan CDC’s Mobilization Plan to Reduce TB by Half in Ten Years (2006-2015) and the start of the WHO 2035 TB pre-elimination phase program, the Centers for Disease Control will hold a press conference on March 23, World TB Day, to announce 10-years of success in battling tuberculosis. The press conference will announce four major strategies: strengthening the foundation and infrastructure for disease prevention, integrating patient and treatment center care, promoting private research to create new technology, and developing transnational cooperation and international disease prevention and control. To accomplish these goals, the Taiwan CDC will work with the medical industry, government officials, and academia work to spur innovation and eradicate TB.

The press conference will invite National Taiwan University Internal Medicine Chest Specialist Physician Wang Jann-yuan, and Changhua Hospital Ministry of Health and Welfare Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Director Huang Yi-wen to discuss TB control policies along with leading a discussion about medical treatment and patient care. Taiwan CDC Director-General Steve Kuo said the 2035 TB pre-elimination phase program includes goals of reducing TB incidence to below 10 cases per one hundred thousand people. This year will see the start of the promotion of "latent TB treatment plan" including expanding TB screening to all ages, and broadening early latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) prevention and treatment. Other measures include utilization of WHO recommended screening technology, interferon-gamma release assays (IGRA) for the diagnosis of tuberculosis, and the introduction of the latest foreign medical treatments beginning on April 1^st such as increasing short-term treatment (3HP) along with clinical treatment so that the original 9 month period of latent tuberculosis treatment can be reduced to 3 months, effectively reducing the potential number of TB cases.

Grassroots public health personnel have been vital in the front lines promoting the prevention and treatment of TB. With the Mobilization Plan to Reduce TB by Half in Ten Years officially coming to an end, Taiwan CDC Director-General Steve Kuo and other colleagues met grassroots level health workers to better understand actual conditions when it came to tuberculosis prevention. Also, 20 essays from public health personnel were collected and published based on the theme of “10 Years of TB Prevention Experience” on the website (http://www.2016worldtbday.com.tw/). This allowed the public to see the dedication and work of these front-line public health personnel who have committed themselves to TB prevention and control. These activities led to praise for these health workers in their important role in preventing epidemics.

The end of the Mobilization Plan to Reduce TB by Half in Ten Years has yielded preliminary results such as lowering the incidence of TB in Taiwan from 72.5 people per 100,000 in 2005 to 45.6 people per 100,000 in 2015. However, an ageing population increases the chances of comorbidity and drug-resistant TB continues to be a challenge for many countries. In the future, the continued importation of drugs, new tests, and diagnosis technology can enhance the breadth and depth of healthcare. The creation of a cross agency system to integrate information into a comprehensive data platform could create the potential for an automatic disease warning system and patient-centered care services. Working with healthcare companies, government agencies, and academia to develop basic clinical analysis, disease treatment, epidemic prevention, and business research and innovation will serve as the empirical basis for policy formulation. Additionally, active participation in international exchange and cooperation for training and exchange will move us towards the global goal of the eliminating tuberculosis in 2035.