Surveillance of tuberculosis in Europe. Working Group of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Region of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD) for uniform reporting on tuberculosis cases

Abstract

A uniform case definition and a minimum set of variables for reporting on each case have been agreed which, when collated on a national basis, will allow comparison of the epidemiology of tuberculosis in different European countries.The Working Group recommends that the case definition includes "definite" cases, where the diagnosis has been confirmed by culture (or supported by microscopy findings in countries where diagnostic culture facilities are not available), and "other than definite cases" based on a clinical diagnosis of tuberculosis combined with the intention to treat with a full course of antituberculosis therapy. Both "definite" and "other than definite" cases should be notified by physicians and, in addition, laboratories should be required to report "definite" cases.The minimum set of variables to be collected on each case of tuberculosis should include: date of starting treatment, place of residence, date of birth, gender, and country of origin, to characterize the patient. Recommended disease-specific variables include: site of disease, bacteriological status (microscopy and culture), and history of previous antituberculosis chemotherapy.The minimum set of variables should be collated on all patients and should be as complete as possible. Additional variables may be collected for individual, local or national purposes, but, in general, completeness of reporting on cases is likely to be better if the information requested is kept to a minimum.Timely reporting of cases is essential for appropriate public health action. Cases should be reported to the health authority at the local and/or regional level within 1 week of starting treatment. Individual-case based information should be reported to the national level by the local or regional level. Feedback to reporters is essential. At the national level, preliminary quarterly reports should be produced and final reports should be published annually.

Mortality among tuberculosis patients in The Netherlands in the period 1993-1995

“…After adjustment for other confounders, HIV infected patients were found to have a tenfold increased risk of death (odds ratio 9.9; 95% CI 5. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. The additional risk of death in HIV infected people appeared to be more pronounced in the second 6 months after diagnosis.…”

“…Recently, the total incidence of tuberculosis in the Netherlands has increased due to immigration from high-prevalence countries [8][9][10]. Among the Dutch, tuberculosis in the younger age groups is increasingly concentrated in risk groups such as homeless and alcohol or drug addicts [7,8].…”

Clinical and psychopathological features of paranoid schizophrenia in patients with comorbid bone tuberculosis in terms of their psychosocial rehabilitation

“…Туберкульоз є одним з найбільш розповсюдже-них інфекційних захворювань, зростання якого збері-гається в масштабах усього світу [1]. За даними ВООЗ, у 2014 р. Україна вперше посіла 5-те місце серед країн з найвищою захворюваністю на туберкульоз у світі за показниками рівня стійкості хвороби до лікування та загальної кількості пацієнтів.…”

Social factors associated with increases in tuberculosis notifications

“…Several recent studies have found that socioeconomic factors, such as overcrowding and unemployment, are associated with tuberculosis rates in England and Wales [6,7], while other reports from Western Europe [5,8], New Zealand [9] and Canada [10] have documented that immigration from nations where tuberculosis is common has been largely responsible for slowing the decrease in morbidity rates in these developed countries. These studies have shown that the incidence of tuberculosis in immigrant communities is far greater than in the indigenous population.…”