In 2024, Korea reported 17,944 tuberculosis (TB) cases., down 8.2 percent from the previous year.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) released the 2024 TB statstics on Monday, saying 17,944 TB patients—14,412 new cases and 3,532 relapses and re-treatments—were reported in Korea last year.

Korea had 17,944 people diagnosed with TB last year, a decrease of 8.2 percent from 2023. (Credit: Getty Images)
Korea had 17,944 people diagnosed with TB last year, a decrease of 8.2 percent from 2023. (Credit: Getty Images)

This marks a total decrease of 64.5 percent in 13 years, with an average annual decrease of 7.6 percent since the peak of 50,491 in 2011, since the implementation of the national TB surveillance system in 2000.

Of these cases, 1,077 were foreigners, making up 6 percent. The share of foreign patients has been on an upward trend, with 5.2 percent in 2020, 5.4 percent in 2021, 5.3 percent in 2022, and 5.7 percent in 2023.

By age group, there were 10,534 TB patients aged 65 years and older, down 6.9 percent from 11,309 in the previous year. However, older patients accounted for 58.7 percent of the total, increasing their share each year.

The rate of TB cases per 100,000 people was also higher among those aged 65 and over, at 105.8, compared to 18.0 for those under 65.

By type of TB, pulmonary TB accounted for 14,095 cases, or 78.5 percent, and extrapulmonary TB, which occurs in organs other than the lungs, accounted for 3,849 cases, or 21.5 percent.

The number of patients with multidrug-resistant and rifampin-resistant TB, which is difficult to treat because it is resistant to anti-TB drugs, decreased by 16.3 percent to 461 from 551 in 2023.

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