[The specific features of the problem of tuberculosis in the rural population of the Yaroslavl Region].

The age and sex structure, social status, and the clinical forms of tuberculosis were studied in 1289 new cases of tuberculosis in the rural population of the Yaroslavl Region. In 1997-2006, rural tuberculosis morbidity in the region increased from 36.5 to 59.0 per 100,000. Over the decade, the overall rise in the number of tuberculosis patients identified in the region was responsible for 61.5% by rural patients. Among the patients identified, relatively young able-bodied persons (aged 18-49 years) accounted for 61.2%. Comparatively, there was the highest increase in the number of new tuberculosis cases among 18-39-year-old women over the decade. Over time, the patients showed a considerable increase in the social group of the able-bodied unemployed, which lowered the efficiency of mass prophylactic surveys for tuberculosis. The proportion of disseminated processes and caseous pneumonia increased in the pattern of clinical forms. In the rural population, the morbidity rate of respiratory tuberculosis in the decay phase rose from 15.8 to 28.9 per 100,000. The findings suggest that the problem of rural tuberculosis worsened in the Yaroslavl Region.