Health authorities of Pakistan are highly worried about the rise in number of tuberculosis patients every year in the country, doctors said Wednesday.

On the world Tuberculosis Day being observed on March 24, the facts came out that as many as 300,000 new Tuberculosis (TB) cases are reported in the country annually.

Pakistan, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Global Tuberculosis Control, ranks 8th on the list of the top 22 high-burden TB countries in the world.

Dr. Abdul Latif, Director of Provincial TB Control Program Project, told Xinhua that one TB patient causes another 10 to 15 new patients in a year in Pakistan.

"About nine million new cases of TB occur in the world every year, while the number in Pakistan is 0.3 million, out of the total 58 percent were registered in women and 42 percent in men," he said.

The World TB Day is being observed to increase public awareness worldwide regarding tuberculosis and efforts to eliminate the disease, of which 3 million people die every year.

"The annual event on March 24 marks the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch detected the cause of tuberculosis. This was the first step towards diagnosing and curing tuberculosis," said Dr. Latif.

Pakistan health department, with the collaboration of WHO, is organizing many public awareness programs on "World TB Day" throughout the country. The patients will be checked and registered for free treatment on the day.

In 2001 the government of Pakistan declared TB a "National Danger" and with international help, a National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTB) was started which will continue till 2012.

Talking about the causes of TB in Pakistan Dr. Kashif Iqbal told Xinhua that poverty, poor nutrition and lack of sanitation are the main factors contributing to the spread of TB.

"The issues that we face are that people tend to hide this disease, many patients even don't opt for cure." Dr. Iqbal added.

Dr. Nazish Ashar, an expert in TB treatment, told Xinhua that with the help of WHO we have been operating TB DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Short Course) program for many years to create greater awareness and high quality TB information with the facilitation of testing, treatment and provision of free TB medication for the entire period of eight months.

Tariq Mahmood, a patient from Vehari district located in central Punjab province, told Xinhua that he was almost chain smoker and was affected with this disease, but he is fine and healthy now after the eight month free treatment by the government.

"With the help of successful TB control program, the cases would be reduced by 50 percent in 2015 and the disease would be completely eliminated by 2050," Dr. Iqbal said.