Today, the press service of the Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan shared impressive results in the country’s fight against tuberculosis. Thanks to the adoption of modern technologies, TB diagnosis now takes only two hours, while infection and mortality rates are dropping at record speed. At a briefing hosted by the Central Communications Service, Malik Adenov, Director of the National Scientific Center for Phthisiopulmonology, detailed the country’s progress toward defeating the disease,El.kz reports .
The key to success lies in rapid molecular-genetic diagnostics, now available at the primary health care level. The Xpert MTB/Rif method examined 44,941 people with suspected TB in the first half of 2025, identifying 4,230 cases (9.4%). Drug resistance is detected on the spot, reducing the time to treatment and minimizing the risk of transmission. Whole-genome sequencing at the National Reference Laboratory and access to international diagnostic standards in all regions further strengthen the system.
The results speak for themselves:
• In the first six months of 2025, TB incidence fell by 13.9%,
• Prevalence dropped by 16.1%, including 6.7% among children,
• Mortality declined by 20%,
• And since 2024, no deaths from tuberculosis have been recorded among children aged 0 to 17.
Over the past decade, TB incidence in Kazakhstan has decreased by 43%, prevalence by 52%, and mortality by 75.6%. The country met its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ahead of schedule — back in 2024.
Prevention plays a central role. In just six months:
• 8,633 people (55% children, 45% adults) underwent treatment for latent TB infection using Rifapentine, reducing treatment duration from 6 months to just 1–3 months.
• The effectiveness rate is 93%, exceeding the WHO standard of 90%.
• BCG vaccination coverage reached 97.01% among children under 1 year old.
• Fluorography screening detected 1,254 cases among 600,000 people from high-risk groups.
New treatment regimens using Pretomanid (BPaL/BPaLM) have shortened treatment duration to 6–12 months, with effectiveness rates of 90.8% for drug-sensitive TB and 86.4% for drug-resistant TB.
Kazakhstan is now seen as a model in the region for its advanced TB control measures and rapid diagnostic technologies.