Context:
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has written to all the States and the Union Territories (UTs) to organise a 100-day intensified campaign on tuberculosis (TB) elimination in prisons and correctional institutions as part of the Union government’s commitment to eliminating the disease from India.
India TB Report 2024
Recently, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare released the India TB Report 2024, which highlights that the mortality rate due to Tuberculosis (TB) had declined from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 23 per lakh population in 2022.
Key Highlights:
- Most Cases Registered
- Government health centres are reporting most TB cases, private sector notification has been rising.
- The private sector reported 8.4 lakh from 25.5 lakh in 2023 as against 1.9 lakh in 2015.
- Mortality Rate
- Estimated TB incidence slightly increased to 27.8 lakh in 2023, but infection-related mortality remained at 3.2 lakh.
- Target
- India met the target for the year 2023 to have treatment initiated for 95% of the identified cases.
Tuberculosis
- Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, affecting any organ of the body.
- Airborne Infection
- It is an airborne infection that spreads through close contact with the infected, especially in densely populated spaces with poor ventilation.
- Symptoms
- Symptoms include cough with sputum and blood at times, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, fever, and night sweats.
- Infection Prevalence
- TB is the world’s top infectious killer, leading to 1.5 million deaths annually.
- The majority of those infected with TB reside in low- and middle-income countries, but the disease is everywhere.
- Treatment
- The standard 6-month treatment consists of 4 antimicrobial drugs, resistance to at least 1 of the medicines has been reported from all surveyed countries.
- Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a form of TB caused by bacteria that are not responsive to isoniazid and rifampicin, the two most powerful, first-line anti-TB drugs.
- Multidrug resistance (MDR) is when a microorganism is resistant to multiple antimicrobial drugs.
- Drugs
- Any of the mentioned drugs include isoniazid (INH), rifampicin (RIF), and delamanid.
Programs to Control TB
- The WHO established the “Find. Treat. All. #EndTB” program and the Global Plan to End TB, 2023-2030.
- The efforts of India are Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, National Strategic Plan for Tuberculosis Elimination (2017-2025), TB Harega Desh Jeetega Campaign, Nikshay Poshan Yojna, and RePORT India.
