The trend of tuberculosis in Japan during the period 1953-58. Comparison of the results of tuberculosis prevalence surveys

In 1953 a survey of tuberculosis prevalence, carried out by the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare on a statistical sampling basis, yielded valuable data on the status of tuberculosis in Japan. In 1954, a follow-up investigation, conducted on one-third of the areas surveyed in 1953, gave information which helped to elucidate the trend of tuberculosis and changes in the tuberculin-positive rate and in the incidence of the disease. Five years after the first survey, the Ministry of Health and Welfare conducted yet another survey, again by the stratified sampling method, to obtain basic information on the present status of tuberculosis, and, by comparing the results with those of the 1953 survey, to assess the trend of tuberculosis during the five years in question.The 1958 survey revealed that the prevalence of active tuberculosis was practically the same as in 1953, a decline in the number of active cases among persons under 35 years of age having been offset by an increase in older age-groups. The inactive form, on the other hand, decreased noticeably. The prevalence of primary tuberculosis was considerably lower, and cavitary tuberculosis likewise showed a tendency to decrease.These facts suggest that the tuberculosis situation in Japan is tending to improve, but at the same time they confirm the need to continue the fight against the disease.