ABSTRACT
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a serious health problem in Eastern Europe, although the total number of notified cases constitutes just 10% of cases recorded worldwide (1). Over the decade 1992 to 2002, the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region (2) experienced a substantial increase of more than 30% in TB case notification. In Eastern Europe, the rate of increase reached nearly 15% annually by 1995, but in 2003, the increase appears to have been halted and incidence started to decline. In 2003, 338,643 new TB cases were reported (1). Among all cases notified in 2003, about 80% were notified in the countries of the former Soviet Union and Romania (1).
