ABSTRACT
During the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in 2020, the strict quarantine regime limited access to medical facilities for people at high risk of infection, including people with tuberculosis (TB). This has led to a decrease in TB detection and treatment in many countries, including Azerbaijan, and has made it difficult to monitor patients undergoing treatment. The aim: assessment of the main epidemiological indicators for tuberculosis in Azerbaijan for 2020. Material(s) and Method(s): the main statistical data of TB morbidity and mortality in Azerbaijan for the 2020 year analyzed and compared with previous years' data. Result(s): The total TB morbidity decreased from 39.4 to 25.3 per 100000 of the population in the interim 2016-2020. The percentage of the men patients every year was 2 times higher than the percentage of women. The number of primary TB patients at the same period of time changed from 3793 to 2558 (bacteriologically confirmed cases 1660 and 1331 respectively), including reduced incidence of extrapulmonary tuberculosis from 833 to 604. The TB incidence in children and adolescents is also decreased from 12.8 to 8.1 per 100000 of the population in the interim 2016-2020. It should be noted that the sharp decline in indicators occurred in 2020, that is, during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the mortality did not significantly change - 4.6 per 100000 of the population in 2016 and 4.3 in 2020. Conclusion(s): The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a false improvement in TB incidence rates with a stable TB mortality rate, which indicates the seriousness of the problem of detection and monitoring of the disease.