Abstract
The Greek National Reference Laboratory for Mycobacteria is a major source of tuberculosis (TB)-related data for Greece, where the TB burden and epidemiology still need to be better defined. We present data regarding newly diagnosed TB cases and resistance to anti-TB drugs during the last 15 years in Greece. Although the total number of newly detected TB cases has declined, cases among immigrants are increasing. Resistance to first-line anti-TB drugs is widely prevalent, although stable or declining. The implementation of an efficient and effective countrywide TB surveillance system in Greece is urgently needed.
Highlights
Despite remarkable efforts to control tuberculosis (TB), the disease remains prevalent worldwide, and important issues regarding drug resistance have emerged [1,2]
In Greece, according to the recently published report by the European Centre for Disease prevention and Control and the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, the case notification rate was 6.0 cases per 100,000 population in 2008, while only 37.7% of all reported TB cases were confirmed by bacterial culture [3]
Drug-resistant TB is common among repatriated Greeks from the former Soviet Union (FSU; principally Kazakhstan, Russia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan)
Summary
Despite remarkable efforts to control tuberculosis (TB), the disease remains prevalent worldwide, and important issues regarding drug resistance have emerged [1,2]. In Greece, according to the recently published report by the European Centre for Disease prevention and Control and the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, the case notification rate was 6.0 cases per 100,000 population in 2008, while only 37.7% of all reported TB cases were confirmed by bacterial culture [3]. Underreporting is an important problem for TB control in Greece, where various limitations in the national TB monitoring system exist [4]. Reluctance to notify TB cases and failure to collect data at regional and national level makes TB surveillance and trend analysis problematic. Drug-resistant TB is common among repatriated Greeks from the former Soviet Union (FSU; principally Kazakhstan, Russia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan). Migration from regions with high TB incidence (Iraq, Afghanistan, India, Africa etc.) possibly leads to further underestimation of the TB burden and facilitates further spread of the disease
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