Lack of Accessible Hospitals and Spread of HIV Infections Rather than Cold Climate Behind Increase in Tuberculosis Cases in Siberia and the Russian Far East, ‘To Be Precise’ Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 20 – Having achieved some real success in reducing the number of cases of tuberculosis in the first two decades of this century, the Russian Federation now faces an upsurge in their numbers especially east of the Urals. Moscow officials have blamed this on that region’s cold climate, but the real reasons lie elsewhere, a To Be Precise study says.

            It identifies three main culprits: the rise of strains of tuberculosis resistant to treatment, the spread of HIV across Siberia and the Russian Far East, and especially the lack of easily accessible hospitals which mean that people don’t get or continue the treatment they need (tochno.st/materials/zabolevaemost-tuberkulezom-v-rossii-za-10-let-snizilas-v-dva-raza-no-epidemiia-vic-i-rezistentnost-k-lekarstvam-tormoziat-progress).

            The increasing number of people who have strains of tuberculosis not easily treated by anti-biotic treatment is a worldwide phenomenon; but it is most common in countries, like the Russian Federation where the number of TB infections are higher and where many people remain undiagnosed or untreated.

            But the other two factors involved are the direct result of Putin government policies. Moscow has cutback on its earlier and more aggressive treatment of HIV infections; and in the case of Siberia, it has closed, under Putin’s “healthcare optimization program,” many hospitals and medical points in smaller population centers.

            It has done so to save money so that Putin will have it to spend on his war; but the consequences for the Russian population are dire: East of the Urals, the number of medical points has declined precipitously over the last three years; and the absence of decent roads mean that those who need treatment often can’t get to places where they might receive it.

            As a result, many infected with tuberculosis either never get care or break it off when the difficulties of reaching hospitals are too great. They remain ill and both become breeding grounds of strains that are far more difficult to treat and a growth in the numbers of TB infected people in the region, yet more collateral damage in Russia of Putin’s war in Ukraine.