Tuberculosis In India

Tuberculosis cases rising in UK and US, why is it a global health concern?

With increasing mass movement, including due to climate change and war, the maxim "TB anywhere is TB everywhere" is more resonant today than ever

India to eliminate TB by 2025, to achieve target 5 yrs ahead of time: Nadda

Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Friday said that India will meet the target of eliminating tuberculosis (TB) from the country by the end of this year, five years ahead of the global target. Nadda said this while inaugurating the 9th National Summit on Good and Replicable Practices and Innovations in Public Healthcare System in Puri. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has organised the two-day-long conference. "As per the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), India has to eliminate TB by 2030. But, we are all set to achieve it by 2025," Nadda said. "We have already identified 5 lakh TB patients during the ongoing 100-day TB Mukt Bharat campaign in 455 districts across the country. An extensive campaign is going on. We are going to include all aspirational districts and aspirational blocks under the campaign so that we will be able to eliminate tuberculosis by the end of 2025," he said. Nadda advised the participating health officers to treat the public representati

Nutritional support to half of TB households could prevent 4.5% deaths

Providing nutritional support to half the households with individuals undergoing tuberculosis (TB) treatment could prevent roughly 4.5 per cent TB-related deaths and 2.2 per cent of disease episodes by 2035, a modelling study has found. The study, published in The Lancet Global Health journal, estimated that more than 3.6 lakh deaths and over 8.8 lakh TB cases could be averted through such intervention. Typically, about 24 households would need to be treated of tuberculosis to prevent one death, while 10 would need to be treated to prevent one case, researchers, including those from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT), Chennai, estimated. The nutritional intervention could have an additional cost of about USD 1,349 million on the health system, with potential benefits of USD 167 for every disability-adjusted life-year averted, they projected. 'Disability-adjusted life-year' is a metric that helps measure overall burde

Centre asks states, UTs to take steps to check spread of TB in jails

The Union Home Ministry has asked all states and Union territories to organise screening camps to detect and curb spread of tuberculosis in jails, saying that the closed setting and crowded areas in prisons may make them a breeding ground for transmission of the disease. In a communication to chief secretaries of all states and UTs, the home ministry said TB is a significant public health concern in prisons. The closed setting and crowded areas in the jails have the risk of becoming a breeding ground for TB transmission, exacerbating the burden of the disease within incarcerated populations and posing a risk to public health upon prisoners' release, the communication said. It said that inadequate screening and lack of awareness are seen as key challenges in controlling TB inside prisons. As part of its commitment in eliminating TB in India, the government of India recently launched a '100-Day Intensified Campaign on TB Elimination', which started on December 7, 2024. This nationwi

TB patients face high costs despite free diagnosis, treatment from govt

Despite free tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment under India's National TB Elimination Program, nearly half the infected people incur "catastrophic" costs due to a loss in wages and hospitalisation, a study has found. Published in the journal Global Health Research and Policy, the research estimated that typically, tuberculosis treatment and care costs a total of USD 386 for an individual. The National TB Elimination Program (NTEP) is aimed at achieving a TB-free India by 2025, while the World Health Organization's (WHO) 'End TB Strategy' targets 2035 to end the global epidemic. Researchers from the TB Support Network, WHO Country Office for India, New Delhi, and Indian Council for Medical Research-National Institute of Epidemiology, Tamil Nadu, interviewed over 1,400 infected people notified under the National TB Elimination Program, and whose treatment outcome was declared between May 2022 and February 2023. "Persons with TB (PwTB) in India incur high costs mainly due to lost ..

Nadda meets CMs, urges support for Centre's intensified TB campaign

Nadda called on CMs, lieutenant governors, state health ministers to monitor the campaign at state level and ensure the same is done by political and administrative leadership at the district level

Over 62 mn tuberculosis cases, 8 mn deaths in India during 2021-2040: Study

Over 62 million cases of tuberculosis and eight million deaths are estimated in India in the two decades up to 2040, along with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) loss of more than USD 146 billion, according to a study. The researchers, including those from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, said that low-income households would bear the larger share of health-related burden, while the high-income ones the larger share of the economic burden due to the disease. Tuberculosis is a bacterial disease that can spread in the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes or speaks. Primarily affecting the lung, the condition can be potentially fatal, as it can spread to other organs. The common symptoms include a persistent cough, chest pain, fever and fatigue. Improving case detection rates -- currently estimated to be 63 per cent -- and meeting the World Health Organization's End-TB target of 90 per cent could reduce clinical and demographic disease burdens by 75-90 per ..

Healthcare workers at higher risk of TB than general population, says study

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 ..

TB fight gets shot in arm from AI's diagnosis, Wadhwani AI, Qure.ai lead

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

World TB Day: As India's eradication deadline nears, Bimaru states a drag

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

India failed to meet WHO End-TB target, cases fall 0.5% in 2015-20: Lancet

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

Artificial intelligence game changer in tracking cases of tuberculosis

Qure.ai and India Health Fund's qXR tool leading better TB notifications

'Govt implementing largest digital programme for TB surveillance'

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 ...

Missing TB cases reduced from 1 mn in 2015 to 0.26 mn in 2023: Mandaviya

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

No shortage of TB drugs in India, regular supply to states ensured: Govt

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

No shortage of anti-TB drugs in country, six months stock available: Govt

The ministry has previously stated that all drugs used in the treatment of drug-sensitive TB are available with sufficient stocks for a time period ranging from six months and above

National TB elimination programme includes Mylab's advanced diagnostic kit

India carries a significant burden of TB cases, with the annual TB cases rising by 19 per cent in 2021

Without whole-genome sequencing, a treatable TB epidemic is a challenge

HaystackAnalytics, an IIT Bombay-incubated company working in the area of genomics using big data has created a comprehensive drug resistance test for tuberculosis (TB)

Serum Institute of India, Mylab launch TB kit for latent infections

The partnership between SII and Mylab is focusing on creating a comprehensive ecosystem for TB diagnosis, treatment, and prevention through various interventions

Health ministry denies media reports of anti-TB medicine shortage

Ministry of Health ensures that there are at least six month worth of anti-TB drugs stored and more have been ordered