Romania remains the country with the highest incidence of tuberculosis in the European Union, on the other hand, mortality has reduced by almost 70% in the last two decades, the specialists announced, on the World Day of Tuberculosis.
Conference on the occasion of the World Day of Fighting Photo Tuberculosis: Patient2.0
The incidence of tuberculosis, the disease that returned to the first right place the main cause of deaths caused by infectious diseases in the worldremains high in Romania, despite the progress made in recent years, the specialists present, on Monday, March 24, 2025, at the conference organized by the Institute of Pneumophysiology and the Romanian Society of Pneumophysiology, on the occasion of the World Day to fight tuberculosis.
What do the data show for Romania, how are they in the rest of the world
In the European region of the World Health Organization, 170,000 new cases were reported in 2024, many of them being resistant forms. 4,300 people, warn the specialists, lose their lives every day because of tuberculosis. In Romania, the incidence of tuberculosis was 44.3 per 100,000 inhabitants (10.8 per 100,000 in children).
Even if the figures place Romania again in the first place in the EU in terms of the number of tuberculosis cases, there are good news. The number of cases of tuberculosis has decreased by 69% in the last two decades, from over 30,000 new and relapses to each 100,000 people registered in 2002, to about 8,400 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2024. Instead, there are significant differences between the counties of the country, the decrease of the incidence being influenced by the access to medical services, the social conditions and the measures taken.
High incidence counties are not good at welfare
The incidence of tuberculosis in Romania is 44.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, but there are considerable differences between counties. In the south and east of the country there are the highest incidence, between 55.2 and 75.4/100,000 inhabitants. The counties with these great incidence are: Mehedinți, Dolj, Olt, Teleorman, Giurgiu, Călărași, Ialomița, Vrancea, Bacău, Neamț, Iași and Botosani. Unwanted champion is Giurgiu County, with 75.4 illnesses to 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Botosani, with 68.3 cases, and Teleorman, with 66.6 cases.
Map on the incidence of TB Source: Communicated in “Marius Nasta”
Less than 34 illnesses per 100,000 inhabitants are registered in the counties in the center of the country: Vâlcea, Alba, Sibiu, Brașov, Covasna, Harghita, Mureș, Cluj, Bistrița-Năsăud, Maramureș, Sălaj, Bihor. The lowest incidence is in Harghita – 14.7 cases/100,000 inhabitants (increasing compared to 2023, when it was 13.4/100,000 inhabitants).
330 cases of tuberculosis in children, compared to 1,800 over 20 years ago
The number of cases of tuberculosis in children up to 14 years has decreased by 77.55% in the last 22 years, reaching, in 2024, to 330 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (compared to 1,800 cases/100,000 inhabitants in 2002), but the decrease is also uneven in the counties.
The rate of deaths caused by tuberculosis in Romania decreased by 69.5%, from 10.5 deaths/100,000 inhabitants in 2001, to 3.2 deaths/100,000 inhabitants in 2024, the reduction debting, say the specialists, the progress in diagnosis and treatment, but also to the prevention.
“Romania urgently needs effective screening, rapid diagnosis and access to innovative treatments”
“Yes! We can eliminate tuberculosis, but only through real commitment, investments and supply of quality services. Romania urgently needs effective screening, quick diagnosis and access to innovative treatments ”, said, at the ED Press Conference, Prof. Dr. Gilda Popescu, coordinator of the National Tuberculosis Control Program.
The biggest challenge is today multi-drug tuberculosis (MDR), which require longer, more expensive and more aggressive treatments, specialists show. One fifth of the cases of tuberculosis are resistant to treatment in the European region of WHO, and Romania is no exception. To cope with this challenge, doctors say that higher financing and digitization in the system are needed.
Financing would allow extensive access to early screening and diagnosis, but also a better control of tuberculosis. Doctors also ask for the rapid introduction of innovative treatments, but also the digitization and integration of databases for monitoring cases.
“We need a systemic response to combine prevention with modern treatments. Only in this way can we stop this disease which, although treatable, still kill thousands of people daily ”, warned Prof. Dr. Gilda Popescu.
World Tuberculosis Fighting Day is marked internationally on March 24. For 2025, the theme promoted by the World Health Organization is “Yes! We can end tb: Commit, Invest, Deliver” (yes! We can eliminate tuberculosis: employees, invest, deliver), a global call to action and responsibility.
In the appeal, the need for larger investments, extended access to medical services and the rapid implementation of new recommendations for the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis is emphasized, the final goal being the elimination of tuberculosis.
The National Program for the Prevention, Supervision and Control of Tuberculosis, together with the Romanian Pneumology Society through the Tuberculosis section and the Marius Nasta Institute, join these steps, supporting the initiatives for eliminating tuberculosis through the National Strategy for Control of TB, in accordance with the agenda of the world organization,
