Ukraine is introducing the latest methods for diagnosing tuberculosis
Starting in April, all regions of Ukraine will begin a phased rollout of modern methods for detecting tuberculosis, which will gradually replace the traditional Mantoux test.
The main innovation will be the gamma-interferon release assay (GIRR), which allows for a significantly more accurate and reliable diagnosis of the disease, especially among children.
Vladimir Kurpita, Director General of the Center for Public Health, announced these radical changes in approaches to detecting the disease during a briefing ahead of World Tuberculosis Day.
According to him, the new skin tests and laboratory tests have much higher sensitivity to the pathogen, which minimizes diagnostic errors.
“Ukraine is now widely implementing new methods for diagnosing tuberculosis. The so-called gamma-interferon release assay (GIR) allows for the detection of tuberculosis, especially in children, much more effectively and accurately than before,” emphasized the head of the Public Health Center.
He added that the transition to these methods is part of a large-scale program to modernize the healthcare system.
In parallel with the GIT, the use of innovative GeneXpert systems is being scaled up across the country.
This equipment represents a true breakthrough in the speed of diagnosis: whereas results used to take days, it is now possible to detect the disease, including its complex drug-resistant forms, in just four hours.
Significant changes have also occurred in medical care protocols. Alexander Zaika, head of the Ministry of Health’s national immunization program, noted that the duration of the treatment course has been halved—from eighteen months to 6–9 months.
This decision has already yielded positive results: the rate of successful recovery among patients has risen from 50% in 2017 to 75% today.
Currently, over 70% of patients receive the necessary care on an outpatient basis, allowing them to remain in their familiar social environment.
For most patients, medical and social support has been organized to help them strictly adhere to their treatment regimen and resolve daily challenges that arise during therapy.
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