Aragon confirms an outbreak of tuberculosis

The Ministry of Health of the Government of Aragon has confirmed a case of tuberculosis detected in the health sector of Calatayud (Zaragoza). In this way, he responds to the comments that have circulated in the area in recent days about a possible outbreak of tuberculosis.

The infected person arrived at the Ernest Lluch Hospital in Calatayud last Friday accompanied by a relative and, due to coughing and the symptoms of the disease, was transferred to the Miguel Servet Hospital in Zaragoza to be treated in the Infectious Diseases section.

Once the case was detected, a study and screening of the contacts with the affected person, who is admitted to said hospital in the Aragonese capital, has begun, so that more infections are not ruled out in the near future.

Likewise, the usual protocol for this disease has been implemented, which last year registered 108 infections in Aragon.

The case of Calatayud would be one of the three included in the Epidemiological Bulletin of Aragon corresponding to the week of June 5 to 11, two of them registered in the province of Zaragoza.

Despite the World Health Organization's goal of eliminating tuberculosis by 2030, it continues to be a public health problem.

Globally, it is considered the 13th leading cause of death and the deadliest infectious disease behind COVID-19.

In Spain, tuberculosis is included as a Notifiable Disease. In Aragon, in 2022, 108 cases were reported, 8.14 per 100,000 inhabitants, maintaining the downward trend. Thus, for example, in 2008, 280 cases were registered.

Of the cases last year, 74 were categorized as pulmonary tuberculosis and one as tuberculous meningitis.. 61.1% were in men and the average age of those affected was slightly over 46 years.

Likewise, throughout 2022, nine deaths were declared in people diagnosed with tuberculosis, with other concomitant diseases.

According to Health, a challenge that arises in the fight against this disease is resistance to first-line treatment. Thus, in Aragon, 18 cases were resistant to some anti-TB drug, 15 in Zaragoza, one in Huesca and two in Teruel, and one of them with a multi-resistant pattern.