The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WTO) say Caribbean countries have the lowest incidence of tuberculosis (TB) and are on the road to elimination.
They said the region of the Americas is the area with the lowest percentage of new TB cases in the world, estimated at three per cent, and is the first region with a real opportunity to eliminate the disease as a public health problem.
According to the Tuberculosis in the Americas 2018 report, 15 countries, 12 of them from the Caribbean, have low TB incidence, with less than 10 cases per 100,000 people and are on the road to elimination.
Marcos Espinal, Director of PAHO's Department of Communicable Diseases and Environmental Determinants of Health, said countries are adopting measures to tackle TB, but should not lower their guard.