Tuberculosis and, in particular, drug-resistant forms of the disease have long been a burden on many countries in Eastern Europe and the Russian Federation is no exception. A video recently produced by Channel 4 News in the UK highlights the growing problem that the country has with multidrug-resistant TB in the general population but also in children and in prisons.
The report also raises the worrying question of what will happen to rates of MDR-TB in the country give that many international donors have now left the country, ultimately as a result of political reasons as opposed to the fact that the country has the capacity or political urge to finance TB care and control itself. We have included the report, The Rising Spectre of tuberculosis across Russia, below (watch the video here) but you can also read Victoria Macdonald’s (Health and Social Care correspondent at Channel 4 News) blog on her trip to Russia here.
Source: TB Europe Coalition