Tuberculosis Claims Over 100,000 Lives Annually in Indonesia

JAKARTA -- The Antara news agency reported Friday that the Health Ministry of Indonesia revealed that over 100,000 people succumb to tuberculosis in the archipelago each year.

Iwan Muljono, a director at the ministry said that every year more than half a million new cases of tuberculosis are diagnosed. He added that 50 percenty of the total cases were classified as infectious diseases.

The director explained that among the main causes of the increase in the number of cases were poverty and the shortage of funds.

Tuberculosis is a relatively common and often deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis.  The disease damages the lungs but it can also affect other organs of the body. The bacteria is transmitted through the air, when infected people cough, sneeze, or spit.