K'taka, Tamil Nadu record highest TB cases, Sikkim lowest

Notwithstanding developing new modalities for diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis, thousands of people are still falling prey to this infectious disease, which adversely affects human lungs, and leading to death if not properly treated.

According to official details, Karnataka recorded the highest number of tuberculosis (TB) cases in 2017 followed by Tamil Nadu and Bihar, while Sikkim and Lakshadweep registered the lowest number of cases with 9 and 14 respectively.

A report of Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare says that in Karnataka as many 4,357 people were detected to be suffering from TB in 2017 while Tamil Nadu's figure was standing at 3,953 followed by Bihar with 3,159 patients. Sikkim had nine patients while Lakshadweep 14.

India's city-state Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh recorded 621, 206, 41 and 23 TB cases.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) in its latest report has placed India on the top of the list of tuberculosis. WHO 2018 Global TB Report, released in the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York, says that two of the primary routes to reducing TB incidence and death are diagnosis and treatment, where 'large and persistent' gaps remain.

Of the 10 million new and relapsed cases in 2017, only 6.4 million (64 per cent) were officially reported to the national authorities and the WHO. Ten countries accounted for 80 per cent of the 3.6 million gap led by India (26 per cent), Indonesia (11 per cent), Nigeria (9 per cent). The gap is suspected to be caused by a combination of under-diagnosis and under-reporting.

India also led in cases of multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB). Nearly half of the world's MDR-TB cases are in India (24 per cent), China (13 per cent), and Russia (10 per cent).

India has set the target to eradicate these deadly diseases by 2025, which is five years ahead of the global target inscribed in the Sustainable Development Goals.

In order to reach the 'elimination target,' India will soon have to restrict new infections to less than one case per 100,000 people as against the current rate of 211 new infections per 1,00,000 people.