TB can be cured within six months, but 17,000 Sri Lankans are still in the grip of the scourge, Director of Tuberculosis Control and Chest Diseases Dr. A. K. S. B. De Alwis told the media yesterday.

Though 17,000 people are infected with TB, 50 per cent of Sri Lanka’s population are known to be carrying the bacillus, he said.

Director Alwis said that approximately 1.9 billion people, worldwide especially in developing countries were found to be infected with TB. The high incidence of TB cases was in South Asia.

He pointed out that TB patients were prone to get their liver, spine, intestines, brains and eyes damaged and people were advised to seek timely medical attention if they developed a prolonged cough more than 3 weeks, fever, weight loss and cough with blood. These were the initial symptoms of the disease.

Consultant Chest Physician Dr. Amitha Fernando said that around 8 million people had been contracting TB annually and 3 million people were dying of TB annually. Every second someone was being infected with TB and every 15 seconds someone was dying of TB. Eighty per cent of TB cases were lung-related and the best diagnosis method was to exmine the person’s sputum and x-ray of the chest.