Viet Nam has recognized a well-functioning tuberculosis program since many years. There have been concerns that the epidemiologic situation has not responded as much as what was expected from a good tuberculosis program, in that the number of notified incident cases has failed to decrease substantially in the last few years.
This graph shows that the notividation rate of incident cases increases with age which would suggest a potentially favorably developing situation. Rates have also decreased among females aged 35 years old or older, but not among those younger.
Many factors may play a role but one that must be considered are the tremendous changes that are taking place in Viet Nam with a move from an agricultural to a rapidly industrializing country, accompanied by migration from rural to urban areas, factors that have impacted importantly on the epidemiology of tuberculosis during the industrialization in Europe.
