TUBERCULOSIS AMONG CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS LIVING IN AREAS OF THE MOGILEV REGION MOST AFFECTED BY THE CHERNOBYL DISASTER

Abstract

The present research paper examines the incidence rates of tuberculosis among children and adolescents living in the Mogilev region of Belarus which was devastatingly affected by the Chernobyl accident. In the framework of the research a database has been developed where all primary cases of tuberculosis among children and adolescents in the Mogilev region during 2004-2014 were recorded. All children and adolescents diagnosed with tuberculosis and recorded in the mentioned database were then divided into two groups. The first group included children and adolescents living in the areas most affected by the Chernobyl disaster. The second group included children and adolescents living in less affected areas of the Mogilev region. The dynamics of the tuberculosis incidence rates among the population of both the most affected areas and less affected areas not has identical patterns. The study has shown that the incidence rates of tuberculosis has been higher in the most affected areas than in less affected areas. The incidence rates of tuberculosis among the urban population of the most affected areas were 2,13-2,64 times higher than among the urban population of less affected areas. The incidence rates of tuberculosis among the rural population of the most affected areas were 2,61-2,74 times higher than among the rural population of less affected areas.