Background. 1162 new cases of tuberculosis were diagnosed in the Czech Republic in 2003; pulmonary tuberculosis represented 942 cases and in 660 cases the diagnosis of tuberculosis was bacteriologically confirmed. Methods and Results. 355 cases were smear positive tuberculosis. The increase of certain TB cases (70 %) in 2003 compared to 2002 is not statistically significant (p=0,031). The notification rate (incidence) in 2003 was 11,4/100 000 all cases of tuberculosis, 9,2/100 000 pulmonary tuberculosis and 6,5/100 000 certain cases of tuberculosis. Conclusions. Compared to 2002 a decline of all forms of tuberculosis was observed, this decline however was not statistically significant. The increase in bacteriologically confirmed tuberculosis and smear positive tuberculosis was also not statistically significant.

        Key words: tuberculosis, epidemiology, notification, annual risk of infection.