[The tuberculosis endemy in Bucharest, Romania, in 2005].

In Bucharest, TB incidence (new cases + relapses) was 65.9 per thousand in 1985. After that, it increased every year, reaching 154.1 per thousand in 2001. In the last 4 years the incidence decreased to 120 per thousand, meaning a decrease rate of 22% in this interval. In 2005, incidence ranged between 91 per thousand in Sector 1, and 138.7 per thousand in Sector 5. Among all patients registered in 2005, 86.1% were new cases and 13.9% relapses. One noted also a decrease of TB incidence in children, from 65.2 per thousand in 2002 to 27.8 per thousand in 2005. Progressive extension of DOTS in the whole city led to a success rate for "source" patients of 88.7% in 2004 (new pulmonary TB cases, smear positive). The late discovery of some cases and failure of re-treatments explain mainly the fact that, between 2002 and 2004, in Bucharest were registered about 200 TB deaths every year. Tuberculosis continues to be one of the main public health problems in Bucharest.