Tuberculosis cases down by about 62% in Armenia in past 10 years, specialist says

The program of the strategy to fight against tuberculosis has been operating in Armenia since 2003, within the framework of which a number of measures are carried out, the aim of which is to reduce morbidity and mortality. Anush Khachatryan, Head of the Data Management and Monitoring Department of the National Tuberculosis Program of the National Center of Pulmonology of Armenia, stated this during Monday’s discussion on the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day.

"In 2023, a decrease in the main indicators of tuberculosis was recorded. In the last ten years, that indicator decreased by about 62 percent [in Armenia]. Let me note that Armenia is quite low compared to other countries in terms of rate of mortality [from tuberculosis]; here we have made outstanding progress. In terms of mortality, in the last 22-23 years, we had a decrease of 14 percent. Last year, we recorded one death per 100,000 inhabitants," said Khachatryan.

According to her, rapid diagnostic tests are used for tuberculosis detection, when not only the causative agent, but also the type of tuberculosis—whether it is drug-sensitive or drug-resistant—is detected through sputum examination within a few hours;

"The second factor in the [tuberculosis] detection is the use of an artificial intelligence system, lung imaging, which has become widespread in the last two years. One of the third achievements is the introduction of short-term treatment," Anush Khachatryan emphasized.

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