RELEVANCE. Tuberculosis is a serious disease, usually affecting the lungs, and can be life threatening if timely and appropriate treatment is not started. Tuberculosis is one of the most common infectious diseases in the world. Every year, tuberculosis is diagnosed in 2 billion people in the world, and every year 3 million people die from tuberculosis. In industrialized countries, tuberculosis became a rarity many years ago, but its prevalence is still high in certain groups of the population - primarily prisoners and social groups living in poor conditions. People with HIV, especially those with a weakened immune status, are most at risk for tuberculosis. In the world, tuberculosis is the most dangerous opportunistic infection at the AIDS stage