Las posibles causas del aumento de la incidencia de la tuberculosis en Chile

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In Chile, after a period of stagnation, an increase in cases has been observed in the last two years, reaching an incidence rate of 15.7 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2018. The study seeks to elucidate whether this increase is widespread or if it occurs in specific groups, also if it corresponds to epidemiological or operational changes. A descriptive study was carry on using data from official secondary sources to analyze changes in the number of cases in the last two years ccording to geographic areas and risk groups. In addition, case finding and diagnosis activities of TB program was analyzed. Increase in cases was observed in 6 regions of the country and foreigner people had the largest increase compared to other risk groups, although the incidence among Chilean is not affected for this fact. The importance of foreigners in the increase of cases occurs mainly in metropolitan region, while in the other regions there are other priority risk groups. Case finding and diagnosis activities may be contribute to increase of cases in some regions, but it does not have a relevant weight in general. In conclusion, the increase of tuberculosis cases is focused on some specific areas, which reinforces the importance of local analysis and the definition of differentiated strategies.