The problem is particularly bad in prisons Health experts in Russia are warning that if the fight against tuberculosis isn't intensified, the rate could double by the year 2010. More than two million people across Russia are registered at TB clinics that are overcrowded, where the staff can barely cope. There is little money for treatment, and many of the patients have drug-resistant strains that are difficult to cure.
Many cases go undiagnosed, while in Russian prisons, tuberculosis is rampant.
Dr Nana Gvetadze of Moscow's Central Tuberculosis Institute said that in Soviet times, the healthcare system was better funded and better able to cope. Strict controls on movement meant outbreaks could be contained more easily. These days, she said, poverty is also to blame for the rapid rise in cases. People have no time to pay attention to their health. Everybody tries to find a job, to work a lot, and I think that is the main problem.