Healthcare: Romania reports cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in patients having contracted it abroad

In the last three years, cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) have appeared in Timis County, being found in patients who have contracted the disease abroad, pulmonologist Adriana Socaci, primary pulmonologist, county technical coordinator of the National Programme for Tuberculosis Prevention, Monitoring and Control told on Monday.Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is a dangerous form of tuberculosis caused by Kock's bacillus that have become resistant to treatment with the most effective first-line drugs used to treat the disease."These patients came to the country after four to five years of working abroad, and in their families, there are no people with a history of TB. We have 11 cases recorded in 2022 and three cases in December 2024. In January 2025, two other cases were recorded. All MDR TM cases in Timis are new cases, detected by rapid diagnostic methods with treatment according to international guidelines. At national level, 232 cases of MDR TB were reported in 2023. The nationwide cure rate of these cases for cases recorded in 2021 and evaluated in 2023 was 48%, and 67% in Timis County. The treatment of these cases requires a minimum of 18 months of treatment. Unfortunately, the difference of up to 100% represents deaths - 20%, and failures due to reduced adherence to treatment," said Socaci.The pulmonologist says that there are also more severe forms, for example extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), when bacteria develop additional resistance to one of the first-line antibiotics, but also to a second-line injectable drug.In most situations, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis occurs due to incorrect administration of treatment, interruption of treatment after the disappearance of symptoms, direct transmission of resistant strains or lack of access to treatment and monitoring. This problem will be the next challenge worldwide in the fight against this scourge, according to the county technical coordinator of the National Programme for Tuberculosis Prevention, Monitoring and Control.Tuberculosis control remains a global public health problem, which can have positive results through a multisectoral approach, involving state institutions, under the National Programme for Tuberculosis Prevention, Monitoring and Control and others."The response to tuberculosis must be a systemic one, through the involvement of effective healthcare services, which ensure the early detection of cases of infection and disease, the use of rapid diagnostic methods, the supply of quality medicines, as well as the implementation of integrated information systems for data collection, monitoring and evaluation of detected cases."According to data with the World Health Organization (WHO), 75 million lives have been saved in the last 25 years, but tuberculosis remains one of the diseases with the highest mortality, with almost 4,500 people losing their lives every day due to this disease.Romania, although in the last 20 years it has made important progress with tuberculosis control, continues to lead the region in terms of the number of cases, as in 2024 the incidence of tuberculosis exceeded 44 cases per hundred thousand inhabitants, well above the average values at European level.In Timis county, in 2024, the disease reached values below the national average, at 37 cases per hundred thousand inhabitants. Most of the counties with high incidence are in the southern and eastern part of the country.