Tuberculosis in Saudi Arabia: the journey across time

Abstract

Saudi Arabia is the third-largest Arab country with a moderate annual burden of tuberculosis. However, tuberculosis (TB) is among several infectious diseases that have not been brought under control, despite the government's considerable efforts. This is clearly evidenced by the ongoing transmission of several imported and indigenous clades of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In addition, the country faces the threat from rising proportions of extrapulmonary TB, non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections, and drug resistance. Furthermore, the country falls behind the global targets set by World Health Organization for the success rate of TB treatment. The country needs more population-based research studies, centralized and easily accessible clinical data registries, and centralized research and diagnostic facilities. This review focused on the trends of mycobacterial infections and on future proposals to improve TB control measures in Saudi Arabia.

Bacillus Calmett-Guerin (BCG) Vaccination “An Overview from Saudi Arabia”

“…Despite the great progress in tuberculosis (TB) control and treatment the incidence and prevalence of TB are still high in many developing countries. Kingdom Saudi Arabia was classified to be among the middle prevalence countries [9][10][11]. The incidence rate of TB estimated by tuberculin testing in the developing countries even in the absence of reliable data, ranged between 2-3% which is about 20-50 times greater than that in the developed countries [12].…”

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“…Health-care units submit monthly TB case reports that include relapsed and new patients in addition to treatment outcomes [4]. Various studies and reviews have been published about the TB problem in Saudi Arabia [4,[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. However, recent and detailed data have not been published to date on TB, especially concerning the large migrant worker and labor force or its impact on TB incidence trends in the KSA among Saudi nationals.…”

The Antibacterial Activity of a Fraction Extracted from Camel Urine against Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolated from Tuberculosis Patients in Jeddah City

“…TB occupies the list of the diseases that have been studied in medical history. In 2012; the World Health Organization (WHO) reported an annual TB incidence rate in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the third-largest countries in the Middle East, have 18 per 100,000 TB cases in their population [1] Put WHO In KSA, the influx of workers from the various regions of the world is one of the most influential reasons for the spread of the disease, especially from Southeast of Asia and the Indian subcontinent where TB is a significant public health problem. The ministry of health put many of the regulations for these workers to have a medical examination before their entry.…”