Tiraspol, December 2. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. President Vadim Krasnoselsky signed the law “On Approval of the State targeted program “Prevention of tuberculosis” for 2021-2025.”
The document was developed by the Ministry of Health of the PMR. It is planned to allocate almost 100 million rubles for the implementation of the five-year program.
A tendency towards decreasing of disease
The developers of the program note, that the epidemiological situation of tuberculosis in Pridnestrovie remains difficult, but since 2018 there has been a tendency towards a decrease in the incidence.
If in 2015 for the first time 475 people were registered, then in 2019 there are already 380. The rate of mortality from tuberculosis has also almost difficult (from 86 people in 2016 to 41 in 2019). In total, 361 patients were registered at the end of last year. In comparison: in 2016 there were 426 of them.
The improvement in indicators was achieved thanks to an increase in financing activities for the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis, the authors of the document note.
The problems remain
Despite the reduce morbidity of bacillary forms of tuberculosis (the open form), drug-resistant tuberculosis is a serious threat to public health. The growth of such forms is noted. Every third of all those registered for the first time has a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis, experts say.
The progression of such forms leads to the risk of the transition of tuberculosis to an incurable disease, which is most dangerous for others.
Expensive drugs are needed to treat drug-resistant forms. However, they are toxic.
There is a high incidence of tuberculosis among convicted persons. At the same time, their number has decreased over the past few years. In most cases, these are patients with an open form of tuberculosis, chronic, drug-resistant, as well as tuberculosis in combination with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.
Measures and funding
In the next five years, it’s planned to carry out a number of measures to improve the epidemiological situation with regard to tuberculosis. These are treatment, diagnostics, prevention, provision of medicines for tuberculosis patients, activities to raise awareness about the disease, development of a patient-oriented approach and social support for tuberculosis patients.
It should be noted, that the bulk of the funds will be spent on treatment, diagnostic and preventive measures (21.3 million rubles), the purchase of anti-tuberculosis and auxiliary drugs (almost 26 million rubles), motivational support for patients with tuberculosis (11.4 million rubles).
It is expected, that the implementation of these measures will lead to a 75% decrease in mortality from tuberculosis (compared to the level of 2015), as well as a 50% reduction in the incidence rate. It’s also planned to increase the efficiency of treatment of patients with drug-resistant forms by up to 70%.
The law signed by the head of state will enter into force on January 1, 2021.
