Moldovan authorities alerted by continuous growth of tuberculosis cases

Moldovan authorities are alerted by the previous year’s continuous growth of tuberculosis cases. Data from the Ministry of Health show that in 9 months of 2006, on average 196.5 per 100,000 were ill, and the number of infected persons increases constantly especially in Chisinau, Anenii Noi, Cantemir, Cimislia and Floresti raions. Minister of Health Ion Ababii recently mentioned that the increase of chemical resistance to the anti-tuberculosis drugs, and the number of so called “drug-resistant” patients, is alarming. In his words, currently the number of these patients went up to 724 cases. This situation is due to the lack of efficient drugs for approximately last 10 years. The respective patients were not treated adequately and currently there are potential threats for the others, said the Minister. At the same time he saluted the Government’s intention to reconstruct the Hospital for infectious diseases in Vorniceni, which will allow to isolate this type of patients. According to the Minister, more than a half of tuberculosis patients registered do not have health insurance, the greater part of them are underprivileged people. At the same time Ababii says that doctors avoid to specialise themselves in treating tuberculosis, revealing that at the moment chiefly retirement-age doctors are working in this area. The Minister of Health requested that authorities examine the possibility of doubling the wage for doctors that work in this area, which at present is approximately 2044 lei. The official is convinced that through financial motivation of the medical staff it will be possible to eradicate tuberculosis threats. During the last few years, the number of tuberculosis patients increased from 129, 7 persons in 100 thousand inhabitants in 2002, to 146, 1 patients in 2005. In 9 months of the 2006, the total number of registered patients is more than 7062 persons. In penitentiary establishments during the reference period there were registered 366 tuberculosis patients, from which 234 were new cases.