New Delhi: The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Tuberculosis (TB) Report 2024 highlights significant progress and challenges in the fight against TB worldwide.
India, among the 30 high TB burden countries, stands out for having one of the highest levels of treatment coverage, with over 80% treatment success in 2023. The report places India alongside Brazil, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Zambia in achieving substantial treatment coverage.
The report indicated that the country made substantial progress in increasing the number of individuals receiving preventive therapy, including household contacts of TB patients and those living with HIV.
The report states that in 2023, 12.2 lakh people in India received preventive therapy, an increase from 10.2 lakh in 2022 and 4.2 lakh in 2021.
Although TB medications are costly and treatment can extend up to two years, raising household expenses, the government is currently providing these drugs for free.
The treatment success rate was 89% for individuals with drug-susceptible TB, 73% for those with infections resistant to rifampicin or multiple drugs, and 69% for patients with extensively drug-resistant TB.
India has set a goal to eliminate TB by 2025, five years ahead of the global target. However, the country reported 28 lakh TB cases, representing 26% of the global TB burden, the highest share worldwide.
India also reported an estimated 3.15 lakh TB-related deaths, making up 29% of the global total.
The report also highlighted a reduction in the gap between the estimated number of cases and actual diagnoses.
In 2023, India recorded 25.2 lakh diagnosed cases, up from 24.2 lakh in the previous year, according to the report.
The WHO report noted that, globally, TB re-emerged as the leading infectious disease killer in 2023, overtaking Covid-19.
In 2023, approximately 8.2 million people were newly diagnosed with TB, marking the highest figure and a significant rise from the 7.5 million cases reported in 2022.
(with inputs from IANS)