North Korea has seen a spike in tuberculosis cases from the autumn of last year to the present. The loosening of COVID-19 prevention measures appears to have led to a spate of tuberculosis patients in addition to people with COVID-19 and flu-like symptoms.
Speaking on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, a source in South Pyongan Province told Daily NK on Friday that the number of tuberculosis cases has been on the rise nationwide since the temperature started dropping last fall.
The source said that many tuberculosis patients have appeared in Sunchon, Anju, Kaechon, Tokchon, and other cities in South Pyongan Province. These cities all have relatively high population densities and a large number of factories.
The number of confirmed tuberculosis cases has increased, and the majority of patients who have recently come to hospitals with coughs, runny noses, difficulty breathing, and chest pain are diagnosed with tuberculosis.
There is also no shortage of patients who become winded at the slightest activity and suffer other severe symptoms such as coughing up blood, extreme fatigue, nervous breakdowns, and rapid weight loss. Yet even among those diagnosed with tuberculosis, many do not receive the treatment they need.
Due to the contagious nature of the disease, patients diagnosed with tuberculosis should be quarantined, but South Pyongan Province does not currently have enough hospital rooms to accommodate patients.
As a result, tuberculosis patients who should be quarantined are instead going about their daily lives without any social distancing measures.
To make matters worse, there is a severe shortage of essential medicines. The majority of patients are left to treat themselves or have their drug regimens interrupted before they can fully recover.
With the majority of patients untreated and unquarantined, there is a high risk that the disease will spread to families and co-workers and overtake the entire community.
“When the temperature drops in the fall and colds, flu, and COVID-19 cases increase, we often see a spike in TB cases as well. [This is because these other] colds can awaken dormant TB bacteria or weaken patients’ immune systems, making it easier to contract the disease,” explained Choi Jung Hun, a senior researcher at the Public Policy Research Center at Korea University. Choi previously worked as an infectious disease doctor in North Korea and acquired a South Korean medical license.
“North Korea still lacks sufficient facilities and technology to diagnose tuberculosis, as well as the proper drugs to treat it. Even in cases where the patient should take medication consistently for six months or more, [doctors] often stop the medication as soon as the patient’s symptoms subside a bit, making it difficult for the patient to make a full recovery,” Choi added.
In the World Health Organization’s 2023 World Tuberculosis Report, released last November, North Korea was reclassified as a “high-risk country” with 1,000 more tuberculosis patients than the previous year.
The 2023 report said that 61% of North Korean TB patients were receiving treatment (a five percentage point decrease from 2022). North Korea’s tuberculosis mortality rate also rose to 19%, an increase of two percentage points from the previous year.
Translated by Rose Adams. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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