TB "cross-border" - a new challenge in tuberculosis management

Abstract

TB in Romania continues to be a public health problem, although the indicators of endemic TB are in a permanent improvement. The TB incident rate has decreased continuously since 2002 with a total percentage of 58.4, resulting in an incidence of 59.5 per population in 2018. Ending in an incidence notification of a number of 11586 of newcases and relapse in 2018. According to UN 3.4 million Romanians are either working abroad or permanently settling there with families, which places Romania in a second position in the world top migration. In percentages, the diaspora represents 17% of the total population of Romania, which fluctuates between the different European countries depending on the demand of labor force. In these conditions, the number of TB cases identified and reported to Romania are increasing (94 cases in the last 5 years), but even more worrying is the fact that some of them are no longer in treatment being lost from the accounts (67 in the database). Most are men (54), young age (15-67 years), new cases (59) with forms of pulmonary TB (69), BK + (69). These patients represent a new challenge for the system: either they are not accounted because treatment cannot be underwent due to frequent departures from the country, in different countries, or they are lost to follow up, Consequences; contacts are not identified and evaluated, indicators are modified, danger to the countries in which they migrate. Conclusions: improving the monitoring system of these patients at international level respecting, the right of free movement of people.