Tuberculosis

With a 100-day TB elimination campaign starting on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India was fighting the disease in a multi-pronged manner with double support for patients, "jan bhagidari", newer drugs, use of technology, and better diagnostic tools. In a post on X, Modi said, "Our fight against TB just got stronger! Powered by a collective spirit to defeat TB, a special 100-day campaign is starting today with a focus on high-burden TB districts." India is fighting TB in a multi-pronged manner with doubling support to patients, "jan bhagidari", newer drugs, use of technology, and better diagnostic tools, he added. "Let us all come together and do our bit to eliminate TB," he said. In another post, Modi shared Union Health Minister JP Nadda's article on the fight against TB, saying it gave an insightful picture of the steps "we are continuously taking to make India TB-free". Nadda inaugurated a nationwide campaign in Haryana's Panchkula to reduce TB cases and mortality

The rate of decline of tuberculosis incidence in India has doubled since 2015 and is ahead of the global average, Union Health Minister J P Nadda said on Saturday while inaugurating a nationwide campaign in Haryana's Panchkula to reduce such cases and mortality due to it. The 100-day TB elimination campaign will be implemented in 347 districts of 33 states where the prevalence of the disease is higher. The campaign is focused on enhancing detection, reducing diagnostic delays and improving treatment outcomes. "We will take detection, tests, treatment and supportive strategies forward at a fast pace under this programme," Nadda said. The Union health minister highlighted the country's long struggle in its fight against tuberculosis, saying that at one time TB was considered 'slow death'. "Even family members suffering from TB were isolated to prevent its spread. Since 1962, there have been many campaigns against tuberculosis, but in 2018 the prime minister put forth a vision to end

Centre to launch 100-day campaign in high-TB burden districts on Saturday

India has recorded a 17.7 per cent decline in tuberculosis incidence from 237 per lakh population in 2015 to 195 in 2023, which is more than double the global decline of 8.3 per cent, Health Ministry sources have said citing a WHO report. In its Global TB Report 2024 released on October 29, WHO has acknowledged the tremendous progress India has made in closing the gap of missed tuberculosis cases since 2015, the sources said. "In 2023, India is estimated to have had 27 lakh TB cases, of which 25.1 lakh were diagnosed and put on treatment. This has buoyed India's treatment coverage to 89 per cent in 2023 from 72 per cent in 2015, thereby bridging the gap of missing cases," an official source said. The source said WHO has "acknowledged a drop in India's tuberculosis incidence from 237 per lakh population in 2015, to 195 per lakh population in 2023 accounting for a 17.7 per cent decline. "This is more than double the pace of decline as compared to the global decline of 8.3 per cent,"

More than 8 million people were diagnosed with tuberculosis last year, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, the highest number recorded since the U.N. health agency began keeping track. About 1.25 million people died of TB last year, the new report said, adding that TB likely returned to being the world's top infectious disease killer after being replaced by COVID-19 during the pandemic. The deaths are almost double the number of people killed by HIV in 2023. WHO said TB continues to mostly affect people in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Western Pacific; India, Indonesia, China, the Philippines and Pakistan account for more than half of the world's cases. The fact that TB still kills and sickens so many people is an outrage, when we have the tools to prevent it, detect it and treat it, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. TB deaths continue to fall globally, however, and the number of people being newly infected is beginning to stabilize. The

Ceiling prices were also revised for the asthma drug Salbutamol in tablets of 2 mg and 4 mg formulations and respirator solution of 5 mg/ml formulation

It was also decided to introduce energy-dense nutrition supplementation (EDNS) for all underweight TB patients or those with a body mass index (BMI) less than 18.5 kg/m² at the time of diagnosis

Underlining critical occupation risks in the health sector, a new study has found that cases of tuberculosis are a lot more prevalent among healthcare workers in India in comparison to the general population. The analysis of 10 separate studies conducted in the last two decades between 2004 and 2023 found an average prevalence of 2,391.6 cases per 1,00,000 healthcare workers in India, far higher than the rate of 300 cases per 1 lakh population. The study, titled "Prevalence of Tuberculosis Among Healthcare Workers in India: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," is a collaborative effort by Dr Ravindra Nath from Teerthanker Mahaveer University, Moradabad, along with Dr Jugal Kishore, Dr Pranav Ish, Dr Aninda Debnath, and Dr Nitin Panwar, from VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital, and Dr Anirban Bhaumik from Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Medical College and Hospital, Delhi. Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the most critical public health challenges globally, particularly in countries with high ..

An affordable tuberculosis testing technology that can detect the disease using a patient's sputum for just Rs 35 has been developed by apex medical research body ICMR's regional centre in Assam's Dibrugarh. The 'A CRISPR case-based TB detection system' is light, portable and involves three steps of testing. Over 1,500 samples can be tested in one single run in around two-and-half hours, ICMR sources said. Conventional diagnostic techniques for TB commonly rely on culture, which requires 42 days to confirm as TB negative, microscopy, and nucleic acid-based methods. These are also time-consuming and may require sophisticated equipment. An official said, "Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health challenge, necessitating the development of accurate and rapid diagnostic tools for effective disease management. Current diagnostic methods often exhibit limitations in terms of sensitivity, specificity, speed and cost, emphasising the need for innovative approaches". Additionally, some ...

The Delhi HC bench directed the social welfare secretary to conduct an on-site visit and submit a detailed report on the facility's condition

27 per cent of global cases of the disease are found in the country, according to estimates

AI models can help in early TB detection due to their ability to analyse medical images with enhanced precision

A total of 108 people died of tuberculosis in Mizoram last year, officials said on Wednesday. Blood samples of 17,432 people were tested last year, and of them, 2,272 were found suffering from TB, they said. Of the 2,272 patients, 164 were diagnosed with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), they said, adding that 86 per cent of the patients were successfully treated, while 108 people died. Between January and March this year, a total of 595 people have been diagnosed with TB, out of the 3,761 samples tested. Of them, 38 were diagnosed with MDR-TB and 57 people were found suffering from both TB and HIV-AIDS, officials said. Of the patients, 6 per cent are diabetic, 33 per cent use tobacco and 16 per cent are alcoholic, they said. So far this year, the Aizawl district reported the highest number of TB cases at 433, followed by Kolasib district (46) and Lunglei district (34). West Mizoram's Mamit district recorded the least TB cases at five. Only 187 people in the state h

The number of US tuberculosis cases in 2023 were the highest in a decade, according to a new government report. Forty states reported an increase in TB, and rates were up among all age groups, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday. More than 9,600 cases were reported, a 16 per cent increase from 2022 and the highest since 2013. Cases declined sharply at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but have been rising since. Most US TB cases are diagnosed in people born in other countries. Experts say the 2023 number is in part a combination of a surge in TB cases internationally the World Health Organisation said TB was behind only COVID-19 in infectious fatal diseases worldwide in 2022. And there are also increases in migration and post-pandemic international travel. But other factors are also at play, including other illnesses that weaken the immune system and allow latent TB infections to emerge. CDC officials expected TB numbers would rise, but the 2023

Experts say that despite the decline in incidence rates, the 2025 deadline may be ambitious

India's tuberculosis incidence dropped marginally by 0.5 per cent between 2015 and 2020 and failed to meet the World Health Organization's (WHO's) END-TB milestone for 2020, according to new global research published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. The WHO End TB Strategy aims for a 90 per cent reduction in TB deaths and an 80 per cent reduction in the incidence rate by 2030, compared to the baseline figures of 2015. The 2020 milestones include a 20 per cent reduction in the TB incidence rate and a 35 per cent reduction in deaths. The latest study estimated that the incidence of TB across all ages in India was 213 cases per one lakh population in 2020, well above the WHO's milestone figure (for India) of 171 per one lakh population. Deaths due to the bacterial infectious disease in the same year were estimated to be between 3.5-5 lakh, again much above the mortality milestone of 2.7-3.2 lakh set for India. The study comes ahead of World Tuberculosis Day on March 24. Desp

India has made "significant progress" in scaling up molecular diagnostics and is implementing the largest digital programme for TB surveillance and monitoring, an official said during a convention for health writers in the national capital on Wednesday. Experts discussed the latest innovations, challenges and collaborative solutions in the fight against TB at the National Health Writers and Influencers Convention held at AIIMS, Delhi. Even though tuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading causes of death and disability in India, affecting millions of people every year, doctors said the disease is not a death sentence and can be treated with proper treatment. Dr Sanjay K Mattoo, additional deputy director general, Central TB Division, NTEP, Union Health Ministry gave an overview of the NTEP and its aims and challenges at the event. NTEP or National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme aims to end TB by 2025. Mattoo said India has made significant progress in scaling up molecular ...

After two challenging years of the pandemic, India has seen a reduction in tuberculosis (TB) incidence by 16 per cent, almost double the pace witnessed globally, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Tuesday. Virtually addressing the 37th Board Meeting of the Stop TB Partnership, he also said the number of missing TB cases in India has reduced from 1 million in 2015 to 0.26 million in 2023. The number of missed cases is defined as the difference between the estimated number of incident cases and those notified. The Stop TB Partnership is hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). It is a collective force transforming the fight against TB. In his address, Mandaviya said TB has been a global health problem for decades. "After two challenging years dominated by disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, globally we saw a reduction in TB incidence by 8.7 per cent, while in India, we were able to demonstrate a reduction of 16 per cent, almost double th

A novel approach to studying the progression of tuberculosis (TB) from infection to disease can identify and treat people at increased risk of developing the disease that current methods of testing would not, according to a study published in The Lancet Microbe journal. Researchers at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Leicester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), UK, hope the findings could help with global efforts to reduce the spread of the disease. TB is a bacterial disease that causes significant lung damage and can, without treatment, be fatal. It is spread in aerosol by inhaling droplets containing the bacteria. Most people who become infected live with the infection and remain well. However, in a small proportion, the infection is not controlled and can progress to cause disease. Current tests of TB infection use either a skin test or a blood test, called an interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) to detect an immune response to the infection. However, .

"Regular assessments are conducted to evaluate the stock positions at various levels, from central warehouses to peripheral health institutes," it said