Tuberculosis in children and adolescents in the Ryazan region in 2010–2023: dynamics of the main epidemiological indicators and problems of prevention

Tuberculosis is included in the list of socially significant infectious diseases that pose a threat to public health. Despite the fact that the structure of tuberculosis cases in the Russian Federation is dominated by the adult population, the incidence of this infection in children and adolescents can be considered as an indicator of epidemic distress, which determines the relevance of analyzing the state of the problem in this particular population group. The aim is to identify the features of the course of the epidemic process of tuberculosis in children and adolescents in the Ryazan region in 2010–2023. It was established that in 2010–2023 in the Ryazan region there were changes in the dynamics and structure of children and adolescents with tuberculosis. An increase in the incidence of children aged 0–14 years in 2019–2023 was revealed against the background of stabilization of this indicator in the group of adolescents. The highest incidence rates occurred among people aged 15–17 and 7–14 years. In 2018–2022, more severe forms of the disease began to prevail in the structure of sick children and adolescents: tuberculosis of the intracoracic lymph nodes was replaced by pulmonary tuberculosis. At the same time, there were changes in the indicators characterizing the early detection of this infection: the coverage of tuberculin diagnostics and fluorographic examinations decreased, there were errors in dispensary monitoring of children in contact with sources of infection, the proportion of people who received chemoprophylaxis and sanatorium treatment decreased. The revealed changes are markers of latent epidemic distress and require immediate targeted measures of influence.