Tuberculosis in Poland in 2013

To evaluate the main features of TB epidemiology in 2013 in Poland and to compare with the corresponding EU/EEA data.

Analysis of case- based clinical and demographic data on TB patients from Central TB Register, of data submitted by laboratories on anti-TB drug susceptibility testing results in cases notified in 2013, data from National Institute of Public Health- National Institute of Hygiene on cases of tuberculosis as AIDS-defining disease, from Central Statistical Office on deaths from tuberculosis based on death certificates, data from ECDC report "European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control/WHO Regional Office for Europe. Tuberculosis surveillance and monitoring in Europe 2015. Stockholm: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 2015".

7250 TB cases were reported in Poland in 2013. The incidence rate was 18.8 cases per 100 000, with large variability between voivodships from 9.9 to 27.4. The mean annual decrease of TB incidence in 2009-2013 was 2.0%. 6403 cases had no history of previous treatment (rate 16.6). The number of all notified pulmonary tuberculosis cases was 6835; 17.8 per 100 000. The proportion of extrapulmonary tuberculosis among all registered cases was 5.7% (415 cases). In 2013, 34 patients had fibrous-cavernous pulmonary tuberculosis (0.5% of all cases of pulmonary tuberculosis). TB was diagnosed in 116 children (1.6% of all cases, incidence 2.0). The incidence of tuberculosis increased progressively with age to 33.7 among patients 65 years old and older. The mean age of new TB cases was 53.5 years. The incidence among men (26.8) was more than two times higher than among women (11.4). The incidence rate in rural population was lower than in urban areas; 17.1 vs. 20.0. Bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary cases (4825) constituted 68,2% of all pulmonary TB cases. The number of smear positive pulmonary TB cases was 2859 (61.3% of culture confirmed pulmonary cases). There were 52 foreigners registered among all cases of tuberculosis in Poland (0.7%) and 250 cases registered among prisoners (rate 298.0). There were 40 patients with MDR-TB (0.8% of cases with known DST results). TB was AIDS indicative disease in 35 cases. There were 630 deaths due to tuberculosis in 2012 (1.6 TB deaths per 100 000). Mortality among males--2.6--was more than 3 times higher than among females--0.8.

In Poland in 2013 the incidence of tuberculosis was higher than the average in EU/EEA countries. The highest incidence rates occurred in older age groups. The incidence in men was more than 2 times higher than in women. The incidence of tuberculosis in children and the percentage of patients with drug- resistant tuberculosis are lower than average in the EU/EEA and that is favorable for epidemiological situation of tuberculosis in our country.