Tuberculosis (TB)

5
Tuberculosis (TB)

News Highlight

India’s Tuberculosis (TB) incidence for the year 2021 is 210 per 100,000 population – compared to the baseline year of 2015 and there has been an 18% decline.

Key Takeaway

  • The Health Ministry on Friday, while reacting to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global TB Report 2022, released on October 27.
  • The ministry stated that India had done better in major metrics as compared to other countries over time. 
  • The Ministry also said the figures placed India at the 36th position in terms of incidence rates (from the largest to the smallest incidence numbers).

Tuberculosis

  • About
    • It is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis), and most often affects the lungs.
  • TB spread
    • TB is spread through the air when people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit. A person needs to inhale only a few germs to become infected.
  • Treatment
    • TB is a very ancient disease and has been documented to have existed in Egypt as early as 3000 BC.
    • TB is a treatable and curable disease.
  • Symptoms:
    • Common symptoms of active lung TB include cough with sputum and blood at times, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, fever, and night sweats.

Global Burden of TB

  • In the year 2017, the largest number of new TB cases occurred in the South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions, with 62% of new cases, followed by the African region, with 25% of new cases.
  • Also, eight countries accounted for two-thirds of the new TB cases: India, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and South Africa.

India Initiatives to Counter TB

  • Program Towards the Elimination of Tuberculosis:
    • The program builds on a partnership between the government of India and the World Bank.
    • The program aims to improve the coverage and quality of TB control interventions in nine states: 
      • Uttar Pradesh
      • Maharashtra
      • Bihar
      • Rajasthan
      • Madhya Pradesh
      • Karnataka
      • West Bengal
      • Assam 
      • Tamil Nadu.
  • TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan: 
    • The Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan has been envisioned to bring together all community stakeholders to support those on TB treatment and accelerate the country’s progress toward TB elimination.
  • National Strategic Plan (NSP) to end TB:
    • It encapsulates the bold and innovative steps required to eliminate TB in India by 2025.
  • ‘TB Harega Desh Jeetega’ Campaign:
    • It aims to improve and expand the reach of TB care services across the country by 2022.
    • It has three strong pillars, which include a clinical approach, a public health component, and active community participation.
  • NIKSHAY portal:
    • NIKSHAY (www.nikshay.gov.in) is a web-enabled application that facilitates monitoring of universal access to TB patients’ data by all concerned.

Global Actions Against TB

  • Ending the TB epidemic by 2030:
    • Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is among the health targets of the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals.
  • The WHO’s End TB Strategy:
    • It outlines global impact targets to reduce TB deaths by 90%, to cut new cases by 80% between the years 2015 and 2030, and to ensure that no family is burdened with catastrophic costs due to TB.

Anti-TB medicines

  • Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB):
    • It is a form of TB caused by bacteria that do not respond to isoniazid and rifampicin, the two most powerful first-line anti-TB drugs. MDR-TB is treatable and curable by using second-line drugs.
  • Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB):
    • It is a more serious form of MDR-TB caused by bacteria that do not respond to the most effective second-line anti-TB drugs, often leaving patients without any further treatment options.

Content Source: The Hindu

Read more…..

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *