Last year 290 cases of tuberculosis were registered in Estonia of which 62 were drug-resistant, health authorities report.
62 cases of multi-drug-resistant TB registered in 2012
22nd March 2013, 17:46
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Estonia together with the other Baltic states has been listed as a high-burden multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) country, spokespeople for the National Institute for Health Development said.
MDR-TB is a form of tuberculosis that is resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampicin, two of the first-line drugs used in treating the disease, but may be resistant to more anti-TB drugs as well.
Treatment for drug-resistant TB takes significantly longer - up to two or three years instead of the usual 6-8 months, is hundreds of times more expensive than regular treatment and frequently has severe side effects. One carrier of active pulmonary tuberculosis may infect 10-15 people a year of whom a tenth will develop the disease during their lifetime.
Incidence of extrapulmonary TB, that is, infection occuring in other parts of the body than lungs, has not shown a decline worldwide, either. In Estonia 23 cases of extrapulmonary TB were recorded last year, which makes 8.5 percent of all new cases. The European average is 22 percent.
Testing and treatment for TB is free in Estonia regardless of health insurance coverage.