Sri Lanka, March 18 -- Sri Lanka continues to battle a significant number of undiagnosed tuberculosis (TB) cases, with around 5,000 patients yet to be identified, health officials warned today.

Dr. Pramitha Shanthilatha, Director of the National Program for Tuberculosis Control and Communicable Diseases, highlighted the issue during a seminar at the Health Promotion Bureau today (18). She said that 8,726 TB cases were officially reported in the country last year, with men accounting for 5,622 of these cases.

Pulmonary TB remains the most common form of the disease, Dr. Shanthilatha said, and about 57% of patients with this type have the potential to transmit the infection to others. The highest number of cases were reported from Colombo...