Tuberculosis is especially common in Berlin

In Berlin, the number of tuberculosis cases is increasing significantly

03/19/2015

In Berlin, more and more cases of tuberculosis occur. As reported by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), 9.9 cases were reported per 100,000 inhabitants in 2013, compared with 9.1 (2012) and 9.3 (2011) in the previous years. According to the RKI, the infectious disease would occur particularly frequently in agglomerations where many people live, e.g. have a higher risk of becoming infected due to drug or alcohol dependence or HIV disease.

In 2013, a total of 346 reported cases in the capital
In Berlin, significantly more people are affected by the infectious disease tuberculosis (TB) than in previous years. This is currently reported by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Thus, 346 cases were reported in the capital in 2013, compared to 319 a year ago, according to the information from the „Infectious-epidemiological yearbook of notifiable diseases for 2013“. Converted to the total of 3,501,872 inhabitants of Berlin, the rate is thus 9.9 cases per 100,000 citizens - an increase of 0.8 points, because in 2012 there were 9.1 cases.

Agglomerations particularly affected
According to the RKI, tuberculosis is particularly prevalent in metropolitan areas where many people live, the so-called „risk group“ belong and therefore more vulnerable to infection. This would include, for example, drug and alcohol addicts, homeless or HIV-infected people, as well as people from countries with a high incidence of tuberculosis, the RKI report continues. The tuberculosis bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) are usually per „droplet infection“ Above all, the lungs transmit and spread through the air.

Even in countries like Hamburg or Brandenburg, the number of TB cases is increasing
But not only in Berlin, the numbers are rising: In Brandenburg, according to the Infection Epidemiological Yearbook 2013 more people were affected by tuberculosis than in previous years. There were 96 reported cases (3.8 per 100,000 inhabitants), while in 2012 there were still 91 (3.6 per 100,000 inhabitants). Nevertheless, Brandenburg lies with these numbers well below the national average of 5.3. The situation is different in Hamburg, where the number of reported cases increased from 147 (2012) to 191 (2013), which corresponds to a rate of 8.2 or 10.6 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Men are significantly more affected than women
Accordingly, the disease continues to be a major problem in this country. As the RKI reports in the run-up to the World Tuberculosis Day on March 24, the numbers overall would stagnate across Germany. Accordingly, a total of 4,318 tuberculosis were reported in 2013 (5.3 diseases per 100,000 inhabitants), which was only a slight increase over 2012 (4,217 cases, incidence 5.2) and almost identical to 2011 (4,307 cases, incidence 5.3 ) mean. In particular, men were affected with 2,665 cases (61.9%), which was much more common than women, who reported 1,637 cases (38.1%) in 2013.

„End TB strategy“ The WHO should achieve eradication from 2015 onwards
„It is therefore necessary to step up the fight against tuberculosis in order to make further progress“, so Prof. dr. Lothar H. Wieler, President of the Robert Koch Institute, on the occasion of a tuberculosis conference on March 16, 2015. This plan is pursued by the World Health Organization (WHO) in concrete terms, with this year's new, so-called „End TB strategy“ used to fight the disease more effectively. Among other things, in low-incidence countries such as Germany (less than 10 TB cases per 100,000 PE), the goal is to achieve this by 2050 „the elimination with less than 1 disease per 1 million inhabitants“ to reach, writes the RKI. (No)