Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) released the
World Tuberculosis Report 2022 which includes the impact of COVID-19 on
TB diagnosis and treatment across 215 countries and areas.
Key Findings
10.6 million People across the world were diagnosed with TB in 2021(up
by 4.5% from 2020).
Out of 1.6 million deaths due to TB, 187,000 patients were found to be
positive for HIV.
About 82% of global Non-HIV TB deaths were from Africa and South-East
Asia regions.
India (28% cases) along with 7 other countries account about 68.3% of
the total TB patients.
India accounted for 36% of the global TB related deaths among non-HIV
patients.
About TB
TB is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
It affects the lungs (pulmonary TB), can affect other organs
(extra-pulmonary TB).
It is a contagious, treatable and curable disease; BCG vaccines are
used to prevent.
Drug Resistant-TB (DR-TB) is a form of TB which is not treatable
by routinely used TB drugs.
MultiDrug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB): It is caused by TB
bacteria that are resistant to at least one of “isoniazid” or “rifampin”,
the two most potent TB drugs.
Extensively Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (XDR-TB): It is
caused by bacteria that are resistant to both “isoniazid” and “rifampin”,
plus any fluoroquinolone and at least one of three injectable
second-line drugs (i.e., amikacin, kanamycin, or capreomycin).
GoI Data
India’s TB incidence is 210 per 1 lakh population in 2021 which was
256 in 2015.
An 18% decline vis-a-vis the global average of 11% placing
India at the 36th position.
