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Russian TB morbidity rate drops by 7 percent

More than 2.8 billion rubles worth of appropriations will be allocated into anti-TB activities in 2012

MOSCOW, March 25 (Itar-Tass) – The TB morbidity rate decreased by 7 % last year, while the overall mortality rate from TB has dropped by 38.5 % in the past seven years.

“We are happy with the TB statistics. The last three years saw a 22.3 % decrease in the mortality rate from this dangerous disease. It means that more than 5,500 lives have been saved,” Lyudmila Mikhailova, the deputy department head at the Russian Ministry of Health and Social Development, told a news conference in Moscow.

"However, we still face two major challenges: the development of numerous forms of TB that are resistant to medicine and growth in the number of HIV-infections complicated by TB. Also, TB morbidity rate has been on the rise but this can be attributed to improvements in early diagnostics,” Mikhailova went on to say.

More than 2.8 billion rubles worth of appropriations will be allocated into anti-TB activities under the national health program in 2012.