Decline of Tuberculosis Burden in Vietnam Measured by Consecutive National Surveys, 2007–2017

Vietnam, a high tuberculosis (TB) burden country, conducted national TB prevalence surveys in 2007 and 2017. In both surveys participants were screened by using a questionnaire and chest radiograph; sputum samples were then collected to test for Mycobacterium tuberculosis by smear microscopy and Löwenstein-Jensen culture. Culture-positive, smear-positive, and smear-negative TB cases were defined by laboratory results, and the prevalence of tuberculosis was compared between the 2 surveys. The results showed prevalence of culture-positive TB decreased by 37% (95% CI 11.5%–55.4%), from 199 (95% CI 160–248) cases/100,000 adults in 2007 to 125 (95% CI 98–159) cases/100,000 adults in 2017. Prevalence of smear-positive TB dropped by 53% (95% CI 27.0%–69.7%), from 99 (95% CI 78–125) cases/100,000 adults to 46 (95% CI 32–68) cases/100,000 adults; smear-negative TB showed no substantial decrease. Replacing microscopy with molecular methods for primary diagnostics might enhance diagnosis of pulmonary TB cases and further lower TB burden.