[New approaches to diagnosis and prevention of childhood tuberculosis].

The concept that tuberculosis is a disappearing disease has turned out to be untrue not only for Russia, but also for many countries of the world. The last good year was, in terms of tuberculosis morbidity among the children of Vladivostok, 1992 (15.5 per 100,000 children).

[Epidemiology of tuberculosis in Vladivostok].

In the early 1990s there was a great change in the tuberculosis situation in Vladivostok. Since 1992, the average total tuberculosis morbidity has increased by 22.7% and in 2000 it amounted to 91.

[The diagnostic value of the polymerase chain reaction in tuberculosis].

The comparative study of material obtained from tuberculosis patients in the Vladivostok Tuberculosis Dispensary was carried out with the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the bacterioscopic and bacteriological methods. The study was made on different groups of tuberculosis patients (in the phase of the active course of the disease and after convalescence), patients with nonspecific pulmonary diseases and persons having contacts with tuberculosis patients. The study revealed that PCR was 2-3 times more effective than the other above-mentioned methods and made it possible to obtain results as early as 3-5 days after material was taken.