Tuberculosis Trends in the Sverdlovsk Region

Abstract

Introduction: Medical and social importance of a continuous decrease in tuberculosis morbidity and mortality remains high implementation of tuberculosis control programs involves the analysis of current regional trends in the epidemic situation and interdepartmental cooperation in taking comprehensive measures to prevent the spread of this infectious disease. Objective: To analyze local trends and features of the spread of tuberculosis in the population of the Sverdlovsk Region. Materials and methods: Based on the results of a retrospective and prospective study for 2012–2022, we analyzed tuberculosis incidence, prevalence and mortality rates, bacterial carriage, drug resistance, combination with HIV infection, and the structure of clinical forms of tuberculosis in the Sverdlovsk Region. The data were retrieved from the reports of the Federal State Statistics Service, Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor), Ministries of Health of the Russian Federation and the Sverdlovsk Region, the Federal Register of Tuberculosis Patients, and departmental statistics of prison health care. Results: We observed a decline in the regional tuberculosis incidence, prevalence and death rates over the study period that were consistently higher than the national averages. The proportion of patients with bacterial excretion, multidrug resistance, and tuberculosis/HIV coinfection was increasing among the incident cases while the proportion of cases of disseminated and intrathoracic lymph node tuberculosis was rising in the structure of clinical forms. The main regional factors influencing the epidemiological situation of tuberculosis include a large number of prisoners and a higher prevalence of HIV infection among the general population. Conclusion: Based on the analysis of the situation, further implementation of a set of measures for interdepartmental cooperation for monitoring and combating tuberculosis is envisaged by the regional program.