All-Ukrainian month of the fight against tuberculosis

Every year in March, the All-Ukrainian Month of Fight against Tuberculosis is held. This is an infectious disease that is transmitted by airborne droplets.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is resistant to the environment, is not afraid of cold and short-term exposure to high temperatures. People with a weakened immune system are the most vulnerable. In particular, HIV-infected, patients with diabetes, chronic and oncological diseases. Also in the risk group are people whose body is exhausted by excessive overload, constant stress, poor nutrition, abuse of alcohol, drugs, and tobacco.

According to the WHO, about 10.6 million people in the world suffer from tuberculosis, and 1.5 million people die annually as a result of this disease. Tuberculosis is one of the causes of mortality due to infectious diseases. More than 95% of deaths from tuberculosis are registered in countries with a low standard of living.

According to the Center of Public Health of Ukraine, in 2023, 19,851 people with tuberculosis were registered in Ukraine, among them: children aged 0-14 – 639 people; teenagers aged 15-17 years – 196 people. This was discussed at the Scientific and Practical Conference with international participation “Tuberculosis and its consequences. Prospects of overcoming”. As it was mentioned at the conference, specialists of the Department of Occupational Pathology and Functional Diagnostics and Phthisiopulmonology of Odesa Medical University have developed a special training course on the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis for family doctors.