Tuberculosis in Poland in 2011.

AIM OF THE STUDY: To evaluate the main features of TB epidemiology in 2011 in Poland and to compare with the corresponding EU data.
METHODS: 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 2011, 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 "Tuberculosis surveillance in Europe 2011".
RESULTS: 8478 TB cases were reported in Poland in 2011. The incidence rate was 22.2 cases per 100,000, with large variability between voivodeships from 12.8 to 37.0. The mean annual decrease of TB incidence in 2007 - 2011 was 0.4%. 7515 cases had no history of previous treatment i.e. 19.7 per 100,000. The number of all notified pulmonary tuberculosis cases was 7879 i.e. 20.6 per 100,000. The proportion of extrapulmonary tuberculosis was 7.1% (599 cases). TB was diagnosed in 111 children (1.3% of all cases, incidence 1.9). The incidence of tuberculosis increased with age to 41.9 among patients 65 years old and older. The mean age of TB patients was 53.3 years. The incidence among men i.e. 31.0 was more than two times higher than among women i.e. 14.0. The incidence in rural population was slightly lower than in urban, respectively 21.9 and 22.4. Bacteriologically confirmed cases (5327) constituted 67.6% of all pulmonary TB cases. The number of smear positive pulmonary TB cases was 2916 (37.0% of all pulmonary cases). There were 38 foreigners registered among all cases of tuberculosis in Poland and 204 cases registered among prisoners. There were 41 patients with MDR-TB (0.8% of 4993 cases with DST results). TB was initial AIDS indicative disease in 26 cases. There were 575 deaths due to tuberculosis in 2010 (1.5 TB deaths per 100,000). Mortality among males--2.5--was four times higher than among females--0.6.
CONCLUSIONS: In Poland the incidence of tuberculosis is higher than the average in EU countries. In 2011 the highest incidence occurred in older age groups and was higher in men. Positive characteristic also when compared with the situation in many EU countries is the low incidence of tuberculosis in children and the low percentage of patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis.