Journal of North Khorasan

Abstract Background & Objectives: Despite medical progress, tuberculosis continues to be one of the most important factors in human morbidity and mortality. The aim the present study was to investigate the epidemiology of tuberculosis as well as other factors related to this disease in the province of North Khorasan. Materials & Methods: This study was a descriptive-analytic study conducted in patients with diagnosed tuberculosis in the years 2005-2010. Data related to patients suffering from tuberculosis (pulmonary and extrapulmonary) was provided by the Tuberculosis Office, Department of Diseases control, Province of North Khorasan. Data were analyzed using SPSS 16 software. Results: 669 cases of tuberculosis have been reported in North Khorasan during the years analyzed. 90.6% of the patients were newly diagnosed cases. The prevalence of the disease in the years studied was 10.6, 9.6, 13.1, 7.2, 8.14 and 17.14 respectively. Conclusion: Despite the decline in the prevalence of tuberculosis in North Khorasan in recent years, there has been an increase in the spread of bacillus tuberculosis from patients to the healthy population of the province. In this province it takes an average of 6 months from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis. This can play an important role in the spread of the disease, highlighting the importance of early diagnosis.