--- title: China Halves Number of Tuberculosis Cases description: The outcome is the result of an aggressive treatment program recommended by the World Health Organization canonical: https://time.com/31435/china-halves-tuberculosis-cases/ author: Michelle Arrouas article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-20T08:31:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T06:51:51.238Z article:section: Health og:title: China Halves Number of Tuberculosis Cases og:description: The outcome is the result of an aggressive treatment program recommended by the World Health Organization og:url: https://time.com/31435/china-halves-tuberculosis-cases/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a1e714ff9856edc/69868651cd804d649acc9d0d/rtx17x9q.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: An x-ray showing a pair of lungs infected with TB (tuberculosis) og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: China Halves Number of Tuberculosis Cases twitter:description: The outcome is the result of an aggressive treatment program recommended by the World Health Organization twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a1e714ff9856edc/69868651cd804d649acc9d0d/rtx17x9q.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # China Halves Its Tuberculosis Cases, Giving Other Countries Hope by [Michelle Arrouas](https://time.com/author/michelle-arrouas/) ## Michelle Arrouas Mar 20, 2014 8:31 AM UTC  China accounts for 11 percent of the world's tuberculosis burden China accounts for 11 percent of the world's tuberculosis burden© Luke MacGregor –Reuters by [Michelle Arrouas](https://time.com/author/michelle-arrouas/) ## Michelle Arrouas Mar 20, 2014 8:31 AM UTC China has cut the number of tuberculosis cases among its citizens by more than 50 percent in the last 20 years by adopting an aggressive treatment program recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), a new report in _The Lancet_ reveals. According to experts, the results serve as proof that tuberculosis can be eliminated if states apply the program, which has rapid detection and cure of tuberculosis patients at its core. China is one of the biggest contributors to the global tuberculosis burden, accounting for 11 percent of the world’s tuberculosis cases. India, Russia and many African countries are also dealing with tuberculosis on a significant scale. \[[BBC](http://www.bbc.com/news/health-26611859)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/31435/china-halves-tuberculosis-cases/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/31435/china-halves-tuberculosis-cases/"},"headline":"China Halves Its Tuberculosis Cases, Giving Other Countries Hope","datePublished":"2014-03-20T08:31:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:51:51.238Z","description":"Experts say that China's progress backs up a WHO-devised aggressive treatment program","url":"https://time.com/31435/china-halves-tuberculosis-cases/","keywords":["China","WHO","tuberculosis"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a1e714ff9856edc/69868651cd804d649acc9d0d/rtx17x9q.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michelle Arrouas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/michelle-arrouas/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a1e714ff9856edc/69868651cd804d649acc9d0d/rtx17x9q.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"An x-ray showing a pair of lungs infected with TB (tuberculosis)","caption":"Clinical lead Doctor Al Story points to an x-ray showing a pair of lungs infected with TB (tuberculosis) during an interview with Reuters on board the mobile X-ray unit screening for TB in Ladbroke Grove in London","creditText":"© Luke MacGregor –Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/31435/china-halves-tuberculosis-cases/","name":"China Halves Its Tuberculosis Cases, Giving Other Countries Hope"}}]}] ```