Increase in cases of TB

According to preliminary data, there were 374 cases of tuberculosis (TB) in Czechia last year. Although this constitutes a slight increase from 2020 and 2021, this figure is still lower than pre-covid rates. 43 percent of cases last year were registered among non-Czechs, more than half of whom were from Ukraine. This information was shared at a press conference on Thursday in advance of World Tuberculosis Day, which falls on March 24.

According to the Czech Ministry of Health, Ukraine is one of the few countries in Europe that still have a relatively high incidence of TB, the others being Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Romania, and Russia.

Universal vaccination of newborns against TB was carried out in the Czech Republic between 1953 and 2010. Since 2010, vaccinations have only been given to children at risk of exposure to TB.