In Europe and Central Asia, in 2013, approx. 1000 new cases of tuberculosis were diagnosed every day, i.e. approx. 360. throughout the year – showed a report by the European Center for Disease Control in Stockholm (ECDC).
The report prepared jointly with the World Health Organization (WHO) was published on the occasion of the World Tuberculosis Day on March 24. It emphasizes that by 2050 it will not be possible to eliminate this disease in Europe and Central Asia, as was planned until recently. It will probably not be possible until the next century.
The rate of decline in the disease is too slow. To get rid of tuberculosis by the middle of this century, it would have to be twice as high, emphasizes Marc Sprenger, director of the Europe Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
We can only speak of extermination of tuberculosis in our region when no more than one case of this disease is detected per 1 million inhabitants, i.e. 900 a year, because in Europe and Central Asia, considered by the WHO as one region, there are 900 million people.
The greatest number of cases of tuberculosis is reported in 18 countries in this area, mainly in Our Country, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Romania and Turkey. In these countries, in 2013, 85 percent. new cases of the disease. In the European Union and the European Economic Area (EEA), with a total population of 508 million, there were 65. illnesses.
Sprenger emphasizes that more intensive measures are needed to eliminate tuberculosis. In some countries there is stagnation in this respect, in others the decline is too slow, ”he adds.
The report shows that in the entire region of Europe and Central Asia in 2013, compared to 2012, the number of detected cases of tuberculosis decreased by 5,6%.
WHO Regional Director for Europe, Zsuzsanna Jakab, emphasizes that the new challenge is the increasing incidence of treatment-resistant tuberculosis. One of them is multi-drug resistant tuberculosis and extremely resistant to treatment.
The main reason for this is the premature discontinuation of long-term treatment for this disease, lasting at least six months. Patients discontinue drugs when they feel better, and tuberculosis mycobacteria become resistant to treatment.
Tuberculosis is the second most common infectious disease, with 2013 million cases detected worldwide in 1,5. AIDS is still the most common disease, with 2012 million cases of this disease in 1,6.
In Poland, 2013 cases of tuberculosis per 18 were detected in 100. inhabitants – according to the data presented in January 2015 at the parliamentary committee by the national consultant in the field of lung diseases, prof. Halina Batura-Gabryel.
The specialist added that there are not many cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis in Poland. “There were 40 cases of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis and about 150 patients with resistance to isoniazite only,” she said. However, the increased incidence of drug-resistant tuberculosis in our neighboring countries is worrying, e.g. in Belarus and Ukraine. (PAP)