Semarang – The number of people infected with tuberculosis has reached at least 34,761 in Central Java, an official said Monday.

The head of the communicable disease prevention unit at the Central Java Health Office, Lily Herawati, said this meant that the province, which has a population of 32 million people, has a ratio of 107 people with TB for every 100,000 residents, based on data collected up until the third quarter of this year.

"We're striving to wipe out this disease by ordering each community health center or integrated health service post to search for and monitor the development of TB infections in their area," Lily said.

She said many TB cases remained undetected by health officers, and that the real level of TB infection was probably higher than the official figure.

Out of the total number of people with TB, only 13,010 or 37 percent have been treated by the health office, she said. "Our aim is to treat up to 70 percent of them," she added.