Ghana has since 1995 been recording a high rate in tuberculosis cases, with an average of 12,000 new cases every year as compared with an average of 5,000 cases annually in the 1980's.

It is projected that if adequate measures are not taken, the number of cases may rise to 80,000 a year by 2010.

Health minister Richard W. Anane said this Friday in a speech read for him to launch this year's World TB Day in Accra.

Dr Anane said that the rise in TB cases might be a direct result of the increasing HIV cases and other social factors.

"The fact that TB and HIV are related cannot be overlooked," he said, adding: "Tests done in a number of countries have shown that up to 70 percent of TB patients are infected with HIV."

"In addition, up to 50 percent of people living with the virus expect to develop TB," he said.

This year's TB Day, set aside by the World Health Organisation (WHO), is being celebrated under the theme "DOTS-TB cure for all." The occasion was aimed at creating awareness about the disease and draws the attention of governments to direct investments into reducing the incidents of the disease.

DOTS is the acronym for Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS), a regimen directed at dealing with the disease.

TB, described as a disease of poverty, is curable but is one of the leading causes of death in Africa.

Every year, 600,000 people die of the disease and more than two million new cases are reported world-wide.

Among the symptoms of the disease are loss of weight and appetite, fatigue, sweating at night, pain in the chest and the coughing up of blood.

Dr Anane said TB and HIV are both enhanced by poverty, homelessness, substance abuse, psychological stress, poor nutritional status and crowded living conditions.

"We need to step up our efforts at meeting the threat from the dual infection of TB and HIV. This deadly duo has brought the life expectancy of a sister country from 65 years to 38 years and, as a country, we cannot wait till we also get there."

The minister said that his government was committed to accelerating TB control by expanding the strategy of the DOTS course.

Dr Anane said the DOTS strategy has been expanded to cover 96 percent of health facilities leading to better access to TB services in the country. TB patients are, however, not completing their treatment.

"Government is, therefore, giving high priority to the integration of TB control in primary health care," he added.

Also in a speech read for him, Dr Ebrahim Samba, WHO Africa Regional Director, said the majority of member states have already embraced the DOTS strategy and started implementing it.

However, only 16 of the 46 countries in the region have managed to reach and maintain between 90 to 100 percent coverage.

"As a result, the impact of the current national TB control efforts on morbidity and mortality burden of the disease is still not significant," he noted.

He urged governments to double their efforts and increase their investments in TB control.

He said Africa's TB case detection rate is still around 44 to 50 percent as compared to the global target of 70 percent.