The tuberculosis incidence rate was, in 2023, 48/100,000 inhabitants, with 9,572 cases registered, of which 429 were children, the “Marius Nasta” Institute reported on Friday. The number of illnesses increases in areas where there is pollution with small particles.
Over 9,500 cases of tuberculosis last year – Photo Archive
Over 9,500 Romanians fell ill with tuberculosis last year. the incidence rate reached 48 percent of thousand inhabitants and is for the third consecutive year of increase in this incidence. In fact, we have one of the highest rates of tuberculosis, according to a press release from the “Marius Nasta” Institute, quoted by Agerpres.
“On the occasion of March 24, World Tuberculosis Day, the Marius Nasta Institute of Pneumoftisiology (IPMN) brings to the fore the theme of 'Tuberculosis and Pollution'. The data of the National Program for the Prevention and Control of Tuberculosis, subordinate to the Ministry of Health, under the coordination of IPMN, show that in 2023 the incidence rate of tuberculosis, among the population, reached 48 registered cases per hundred thousand inhabitants, compared to 46.3 in 2022 and 39.7 in 2021. Compared to the previous year, the current figures are increasing by over 700 patients, in 2022 8,824 cases of tuberculosis were registered, of which 327 were children“, it is stated in a press release of the medical unit.
The counties with the highest incidence of tuberculosis are Dolj, Teleorman, Giurgiu, Brăila and Botoşani, where over 75 cases/100,000 inhabitants were registered. At the opposite pole are Covasna, Bistrita-Năsăud, Alba, Braşov and Sălaj with less than 30 cases/100,000 inhabitants.
In the case of tuberculosis detected in children, the counties with high incidence are Teleorman with almost 80 cases/100,000 inhabitants, Brăila, Giurgiu, Călăraşi and Bihor. The county with zero incidence in children is Alba county, and the lowest incidences are recorded in Botoşani, Sălaj and Covasna.
Among the factors that have contributed to the increase in cases among children are: contact with sick adults – children can be exposed to tuberculosis through contact with adults or other infected people in their environment, including in the family, community or in educational institutions, limited access to health systems in certain territories in Romania, which can lead to delayed diagnosis and treatment, weakened immunity or the existence of an immature immune system, which makes them more susceptible to infections, experts say.
Moreover, stress and poor socio-economic conditions can increase the risk of tuberculosis, by decreasing their resistance to infections and by exposure to risk factors.
“Tuberculosis is a problem that continues to raise public health concerns. We must also collaborate with family doctors, with other doctors to be able to diagnose early tuberculosis. We have the tools available and the diagnostic tools to do this quickly, and the WHO is a partner that actively supports Romania's fight against tuberculosis”said the representative of the WHO Romania Office, Caroline Clarinval.
The increase in the incidence of tuberculosis in Romania in recent years is in line with the international trend, being a consequence of the diagnostic deficit in 2020, but the situation is one “which requires further research“, experts believe.
“Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis remains a sensitive problem”
For his part, the Minister of Health, Alexandru Rafila, stated that the Ministry of Health is doing everything in its power to ensure the medication and treatment compliance of patients with this disease, during a press conference organized by the “Marius Nasta” Institute of Pneumophthisiology “.
“Tuberculosis remains a public health topic on the agenda in Romania and, even though after a period of constant decrease since 2004 in the incidence of tuberculosis, when it was around 140, if I'm not mistaken, and reached somewhere around 50 in the last years, apparently the number of cases is increasing. Of course these are the values, growth is slow. I am convinced that this is also a result of the pandemic which led to a reduction in the activities related to the diagnosis of tuberculosis and it is a rebound, which is not unusual, especially since it is not a dramatic increase. (…) The problem of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, which concerns the authorities in Romania, the WHO, the European Commission, remains a sensitive issue and we do everything we can to ensure medication and treatment compliance of patients“, said Alexandru Rafila.
The Minister of Health emphasized that we have one of the highest rates of tuberculosis in the European Union.
“We will see in the coming years, but obviously, taking into account the numbers in Romania, which are much higher than in most countries in the European Union – around 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, it represents a challenge continues and often affects disadvantaged communities, because this is not new, there is always a socio-economic determinism of tuberculosis“, explained the Minister of Health.
Moreover, he emphasized the role of pollution with small particles in areas where the incidence of tuberculosis is higher.
“Now, in addition to what we knew, more or less historically, we also observe an overlap of the pollution situation with the tuberculosis incidence map in Romania, where the high values of the presence of particles with a small size below 2.5 nanometers in the inspired air coincide and with areas where the incidence of tuberculosis is much higher“, Alexandru Rafila pointed out.
Bucharest is on the 35th place in the list of the most polluted cities in the world, by the AirVisual application, with an index of 75, which corresponds to moderate atmospheric pollution. Only seven countries in the world: Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius and New Zealand, comply with the limit recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for small particles in suspension expelled by cars, trucks and industrial processes.
In recent years, programs have been carried out screening and the laboratories were equipped with rapid detection equipment, the Minister of Health also said.
“I would be happy to be contemporary with the moment when the incidence of tuberculosis in Romania will be in a single digit and not in two, i.e. to reach below 10. It is an ambitious goal, I think it is possible, but this can be achieved in the conditions for a reduction of gaps in terms of poverty in Romania, which is possible not only through economic measures, but also by stimulating access to health services, on the one hand, and, last but not least, I believe that this is primarily row – access to education and the development of education in Romania. An educated population is a population that can adopt a lifestyle and preventive measures, which can certainly reduce tuberculosis to values that no longer represent a public health problem“, claimed Rafila.
