In 2025, 87 cases of tuberculosis were registered in Estonia, including 73 new or primary cases, 12 relapses and two other cases requiring repeat treatment — three fewer than in 2024.

"Compared with 25 years ago, this is a very large decline in incidence, as in 2001 we registered 812 tuberculosis cases in Estonia," said Piret Viiklepp, head of the registries department at the National Institute for Health Development (TAI).

Of those who fell ill with tuberculosis in 2025, 65 (74.7 percent) were men and 22 were women. The oldest patient was 89, while the youngest were 12 and 16; no cases were diagnosed in small children last year.

In 74 cases (85 percent), the disease was pulmonary tuberculosis, including 60 cases of an infectious form, meaning that close contacts of the patient could also become infected.

In 2025, a total of 12 multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis cases were registered, accounting for 19.4 percent of pulmonary tuberculosis cases where drug susceptibility was known. This share is among the highest in Europe; in European Union countries, the proportion of drug-resistant forms was 4.3 percent in 2024.

Rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis is challenging, as the bacteria grow very slowly and are therefore not detectable in routine clinical microbiology laboratories.

Tuberculosis testing is carried out in the mycobacteriology laboratories of Tartu University Hospital and the North Estonia Medical Centre, where rapid tests, culture methods and drug susceptibility testing are used.

The high prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis strains has persisted in Estonia and the Baltic states for years, largely due to factors from the past when diagnostic methods and the quality of treatment were inferior to today's standards. Of those infected with tuberculosis, about 10 percent will develop the disease over their lifetime — half within two years and the other half over the remainder of their lives. As a result, since a portion of the population has already been infected with resistant strains, this is one of the main reasons why these forms of the disease are unlikely to disappear in the near future.

Tuberculosis medications are guaranteed in Estonia for all patients who need them, outpatient treatment is organized flexibly and in a patient-centered way and hospital care is ensured for all infectious patients who require it.

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease spread through airborne droplets and is caused by bacteria belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. The lungs are most commonly affected, although tuberculosis can also impact other tissues and organs.

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