TB is alive and well

Published on 25 August 2011 at 10:11

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“Why does Romania hold the European record for TB?” asks România Libera. According to the statistics, 20,000 Romanians currently suffer from this disease, a rate of 90 per hundred thousand, while 12,000 new cases are cropping up every year. In neighbouring countries (Serbia, Bulgaria, Hungary), however, the disease has been wiped out. A chaotic health care system, drugs that are too expensive and a tendency for patients to seek medical attention too late are the main reasons for this, notes the daily. “People are terribly ashamed of this disease. It’s worse than having HIV or a sexually transmitted disease,” explains Jonathan Stillo, an American anthropologist who has lived in Romania for ten years. The solution? To continue prevention programs in conjunction with treatment, advocates România Libera.

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