La eliminación de la tuberculosis como problema de Salud Pública: Situación de Chile en el año 2008

Abstract

In this communication the most relevant aspects, both positive and negative, of the evolution of the Chilean Tuberculosis Control Program in the last 15 years are synthetically presented, including the completed phases of the process which should lead to the goal of elimination of Tuberculosis as a public health problem (incidence < 5/100.000). To attain this effect the requisite of previously overcoming the intermediate phases of "threshold of elimination" (< 20/100.000) and "advanced elimination" (< 10/100.000) was established. Besides pointing out the different kinds of difficulties met until now in this process and the fulfillments reached in the precedent phases, the current epidemiological and operational situations are described alongside with the new obstacles which the Tuberculosis Control Program has faced since the second semester of 2008 and the possible paths of solution, from which the consecution of the sanitary goal for the year 2010 depends.