India's Progress in Tuberculosis (TB) Elimination

Syllabus: Prelims Unit I - General Science

Key Findings from Annual India TB Report 2024

• 16% decline in TB incidence from 2015 to 2022 (surpassing global decline of 9%)
• 25.55 lakh TB cases notified in 2023 (highest since NTEP launch in 1960s)
• Treatment coverage improved to 80% of estimated TB cases (19% increase from previous year)
• TB mortality reduced to 23 per lakh population (18% decline from 2015)

State-wise Notifications

• Uttar Pradesh: Highest number of TB case notifications
• Bihar: Second highest number of notifications
• Private sector: Over 8.4 lakh cases (1.17% increase from 2022)

Achievements and Milestones

• Case notification rate: ~179 cases per lakh population in 2023
• Coverage gap narrowed to 0.2 million
• 63,939 cases of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) diagnosed
• 20.5+ crore individuals screened for TB symptoms in 2023
• Gender distribution of notified cases: 60.7% men, 39.2% women, 0.04% transgender

Types of TB

• Latent TB: Infected but asymptomatic, not contagious
• Active TB: Symptomatic, contagious (pulmonary or extrapulmonary)
• Miliary TB: Rare form affecting multiple organs
• Drug-resistant TB: MDR-TB and XDR-TB

TB-HIV Co-infection

• 34,476 TB-HIV co-infected cases in 2023
• 94% started on antiretroviral therapy (ART)
• 95% started on Co-trimoxazole Prophylaxis Therapy (CPT)

National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP)

• Core strategy: DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course)
• Free diagnosis and treatment in public health system
• Public-private partnerships
• Active case finding in high-risk areas
• Nikshay: Web-based monitoring platform
• National Strategic Plan (NSP) for TB Elimination 2017-2025

India's Efforts and Goals

• Aim: Eliminate TB by 2025 (5 years ahead of SDG target)
• Focus: Early detection, treatment initiation, community engagement
• Challenge: India accounts for 28% of global TB cases