The Ministry of Health (Minsa) reported significant advances in two key indicators by the end of 2025: a decrease in the incidence rate and a reduction in tuberculosis-related mortality. Edwin Aizpurúa, head of the Minsa Tuberculosis Control Section, detailed that the incidence of tuberculosis in the country has shown a sustained decrease. It went from 47.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2024, with 2,156 cases reported, to 44.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2025, with 2,044 cumulative cases, confirming a downward trend in disease transmission.
Similarly, tuberculosis deaths at the national level showed a significant reduction, decreasing from 267 deaths in 2024 to 181 in 2025, reflecting progress in strengthening early detection, access to treatment, and timely patient follow-up. Despite these advances, Aizpurúa emphasized that tuberculosis continues to be a public health problem in the country, mainly due to late diagnosis.
He stated that the late detection of the disease favors the increase in cases each year, as an undiagnosed person can continue to spread the bacteria and, in advanced stages, face serious complications and even death. In this sense, he called on the population to, if they experience symptoms such as a persistent cough for more than 15 days, fever, night sweats, and weight loss, go immediately to primary health services to get the corresponding tests.
However, some regions continue to report high incidence rates. Among them are Bocas del Toro, with 135.54 cases per 100,000 inhabitants; East Panama, with 135.7; and the Guna Yala region, with 131.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, concentrating the highest indicators at the national level. The Ministry of Health permanently maintains the strategy of applying diagnostic tests to people with risk factors to ensure timely diagnosis and reduce the transmission of tuberculosis.
