Ukraine is currently experiencing an increased incidence of tuberculosis. On average, about 20 thousand cases of tuberculosis were registered over the past year, and 640 cases were among children.
This was announced by Deputy Minister of Health, Chief State Sanitary Doctor Ihor Kuzin during a briefing, according to a UNN correspondent .
If you look at global trends, the incidence of tuberculosis in the world has increased by at least 4% over the past year. If you look at the number of deaths, this figure has started to increase in Europe for the first time in probably the last 15-20 years, and there is a reason for this. Because COVID-19 had a strong impact on how many patients were willing to visit family doctors and use the health care system in general
He noted that TB symptoms can resemble those of COVID-19. He also reported on the situation with the disease in Ukraine.
We are now recording an increase in the incidence of tuberculosis. If you look at the statistics, on average, over the past year, Ukraine has registered about 20 thousand cases of tuberculosis, and 640 cases among children. Among children, we have registered an increase in the following cases
Yana Terleyeva, Head of the Department of Tuberculosis Management and Control, Centralized Tuberculosis Center, noted that the highest incidence rate is observed in Odesa, Kirovohrad, Dnipro, Zakarpattia and Volyn regions.
In addition, Kuzin said that Ukraine has a sufficient number of innovative approaches and opportunities to receive modern, effective treatment.
Ukraine has been working according to updated WHO protocols for several years. Our treatment regimens, our approaches to prevention and treatment are in line with the best European and global standards. If we take multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, for example, it used to take an average of 18 to 24 months to cure. Now it is possible to cure a patient in 6 to 9 months