[Tuberculosis in Poland in 2007]

In 2007 first time for many years registered small increase incidence of TB. In this year 8,616 tuberculosis cases notified it was higher--23 cases--than previous year. Incidence rate was 22.6 per 100,000 population with the large differences in notification rates between voivodships/region from 14.4 in the West to 35.3 in the East. The incidence in 2007 was 0.4% higher than in previous year and 34.0% lover than in 1998 y. Pulmonary cases represented 92.7% of all TB cases of which 65.1% were bacteriologically confirmed. Children TB cases--74 (including 5 cases in foreigners) incidence 1.2--represented 0.9% of all TB cases notified in Poland. The incidence of tuberculosis increases with age from 1.2 in children to 41.1 among 65 and older. The median age group--50-54. The incidence of men 31.4 is two times higher than in women--14.4 and in rural population is higher than in urban respectively 24.1 and 21.7. Among of all TB pulmonary cases were 226 cases--2.8% all TB cases--with resistance to at least one drug. In these cases were 59 MDR TB cases. In overall registered cases were 33 cases among HIV/AIDS patiens and 55 cases among foreigners and also registered 228 cases among prisoners. There were 739 deaths due to tuberculosis: from tuberculosis pulmonary 716--and 23 from extrapulmonary tuberculosis reported in 2006 i.e. 1.9 per 100,000. Mortality among males 3.1 was four times higher than among females--0.8. Among all deaths from tuberculosis--39.5% were in patients 65 year of age and older. Since many years the TB mortality is of the order of 0.2% of total mortality and more than 1/3 of all deaths from infectious diseases.

In 2007 y first time since 1994 y registered small increase incidence of TB. At this stage is two early to assert whether this provisional result for 2007 signify durable reverse of hitherto trends. The incidence of tuberculosis in Poland was about two times higher than mean incidence European Union before enlargement (15 countries). The distance between Poland and EU countries with lowest incidence TB is estimated 20-25 years.