In the summer months the shores of Lake Issy-Kul in northern Kyrgyzstan are thronged with holidaymakers, attracted by the fresh mountain air and the lake's clear, sparkling waters.

But for the children in the hospital in the resort town of Cholpon Ata a trip to the region is far from a holiday.

Most of them have to spend months or years in hospital, away from family members, to undergo treatment for tuberculosis – a disease which is rife in central Asia.

“Between 90 and 95 per cent of our children are from poor families where parents, siblings or relatives are sick with TB,” says Minovar Kalpakova, deputy doctor in charge of the TB centre.

Eighteen-year-old Aidana lost her father to TB, then her mother abandoned the family. Soon she, her aunt, uncle and nephew all contracted the disease.