Tuberculosis

TB-free India is a distant goal as national plan struggles to meet targets

Country's share in global TB burden narrowed from 27% in 2015 to 25% in 2024 but it still has the most cases in the world

India tops global TB burden in 2024 despite lower incidence: WHO report

India made strong gains in TB reduction, cutting incidence by 21% since 2015, but still accounted for 25% of global cases in 2024, according to the WHO's Global TB Report 2025

Global TB cases hit 8.3 million in 2024, deaths fall to 1.23 million: WHO

The number of people diagnosed with tuberculosis worldwide rose again last year, eclipsing 2023's record total, World Health Organisation officials said Wednesday. About 8.3 million people across the globe were reported as newly diagnosed with TB in 2024. Not all infections are diagnosed and the new numbers represent 78% of the estimated number of people who actually fell ill last year, the WHO noted. WHO officials see the increase as an indication that screening and treatment are improving after health care disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Globally, the number of deaths caused by TB fell in 2024 to 1.23 million, down from 1.25 million the year before. US tuberculosis cases continued to rise last year reaching the highest level in more than a dozen years, according to preliminary data released earlier this year. The vast majority of US TB cases are diagnosed in people born in other countries. Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria that attack the lungs, and is spread through

India advances anti-dumping probe into TB drug imports from China, Thailand

The DGTR, in a statement on Monday, named Lupin as the domestic industry participant and Chinese producer Wuhan Wuyao Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd among the foreign respondents

WHO's new TB guidelines calls for food assistance to tackle disease

The World Health Organisation has released new guidelines to tackle tuberculosis and undernutrition, recommending that food assistance be provided to households with TB patients while the undernourished or food insecure be screened for the disease. The shift in the global TB policy is inspired by the pathbreaking Reducing Activation of Tuberculosis by Improvement of Nutritional Status (RATIONS) trial by Indian researchers. The RATIONS trial, conducted in Jharkhand and published in The Lancet and The Lancet Global, highlighted the vital role nutrition plays in reducing mortality among people living with active TB, as well as in reducing incidence among household contacts of pulmonary tuberculosis patients. The ICMR-supported RATIONS trials were led by a research team headed by Dr Anurag Bhargava and Dr Madhavi Bhargava from Kasturba Medical College and Yenepoya Medical College, respectively. The studies showed that weight gain in the first two months was associated with a 60 per cen

WHO redefines TB care with new focus on food and nutritional support

The new guidelines from WHO call for integrating nutrition into TB programmes worldwide, emphasising assessment, and targeted food support for those in need

Made-in-India TB tests validated by ICMR; offer cheaper, faster detection

In a boost to India's fight against tuberculosis, apex health research body ICMR has validated new indigenously developed tools that could bolster the country's diagnostic capacity and offer a cheaper detection option. Eliminating tuberculosis (TB) depends crucially on the ability to detect early, accurately, and universally, to initiate patients on treatment and curb community transmission. Among the recently validated tools is Quantiplus MTB FAST detection kit, developed by Huwel Lifesciences in Telangana, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said in a note. Quantiplus is the first open system RT-PCR assay validated for the detection of lung TB as it can run on any existing PCR machine and is not limited to proprietary platforms. "This means, laboratories across India, even those without specialised 'closed' equipment, can now expand rapid molecular TB testing using standard PCR machines," a source explained. Furthermore, Quantiplus can test as many as 96 samples ...

TB remains India's top infectious killer, deadlier than HIV or malaria

Despite decades of control efforts, tuberculosis still causes far more deaths than HIV or malaria, hitting India's working-age population the hardest

ICMR study shows improved nutrition's impact in curbing TB; WHO agrees

A study funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has demonstrated the impact of improved nutrition in reducing tuberculosis cases and fatalities, with the WHO incorporating the findings into updated global guidance on controlling the disease. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of nutritional supplementation on tuberculosis incidence in household contacts of adults with microbiologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis. Household contacts of 2,800 patients with microbiologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis across 28 units of the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme in four districts of Jharkhand were enrolled for this field-based, open-label, cluster-randomised controlled trial. The study, published by The Lancet, said that in India, tuberculosis and undernutrition are syndemic, with a high burden of TB coexisting with a high burden of undernutrition in patients and in the population. In a post on X on August 7, ICMR said the WHO has recogni

The contagion scale: From measles to TB which disease spread fastest?

The R0 measure indicates how an infection will spread in a population. If it's greater than one (as seen above), the outcome is disease spread

Gujarat reports 34% drop in TB cases, 37% fall in mortality rate in 2023

The Gujarat government on Friday said the state witnessed 34 per cent reduction in the number of new tuberculosis patients and 37 per cent reduction in mortality rate in 2023 when compared to 2015. A release said Governor Acharya Devvrat held a meeting with senior officials of the Health and Family Welfare Department at Raj Bhavan in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and conducted a comprehensive review of the work being done under the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan. "In Gujarat, the number of new TB patients in 2023 has decreased by 34 per cent and deaths by 37 per cent compared to 2015. For this, the Union government has given Gujarat first place in the 'States with Most Improvement' category" officials told the governor," the release said. "The governor requested the officials to work as a movement to make Gujarat completely TB free. He said officials should not be lax in the work of TB control. He asked them to work seriously to achieve the target and to spread more ...

Centre to get 1,500 handheld X-ray machines for TB elimination programme

Currently, around 500 such portable X-ray devices are deployed at screening centers across the country and over 46,000 Gram Panchayats in the country have been declared TB-free

Tamil Nadu becomes first state to adopt TB death prediction model

Tamil Nadu has become the first state in the country to implement a model which predicts the probability of deaths among adults with Tuberculosis and has integrated it with the existing state-wide application TB SeWA, which triages them at diagnosis. The predictive model, developed by ICMR's National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE) that was launched last week, aims to reduce the average time from diagnosis to hospital admission for severely ill TB patients, thereby bringing down the mortality rate further, said Dr Asha Frederick, State TB Officer of Tamil Nadu. The new feature has been added to Tamil Nadu's existing TB SeWA (Severe TB Web Application), which has been in use since 2022 under the state's differentiated care model initiative Tamil Nadu - Kasanoi Erappila Thittam (TN-KET), she told PTI. Under TN-KET, healthcare workers screen a triage every newly diagnosed adult with TB for very severe undernutrition, respiratory distress or poor physical condition using five variables

PM Modi calls for scaling up early detection to eliminate TB by 2025

India accounts for 26 per cent of global TB burden; PM highlights technology use, infrastructure expansion and targeted outreach as key to meeting 2025 goal

38% rise in notified TB cases in children aged 14 or below in 5 years

Experts indicate Covid effect, malnutrition, rise in drug-resistant TB as major factors

AI tools used in TB screening under 100-day drive: Govt to Rajya Sabha

Tools like AI-driven handheld X-rays were used across various states to screen vulnerable persons for tuberculosis (TB) under the 100-day intensified 'TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan', minister of state for health informed the Rajya Sabha on Friday. In a written reply, Minister Anupriya Patel said the government has adopted Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools validated and recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for chest X-ray analysis and Line Probe Assay (LPA) result interpretation. The DeepCXR tool is being used for automated chest X-ray reading, while an AI-based system facilitates automated reading, recording, and entry of LPA results, she added. Additionally, the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) has adopted DeepCXR tool for automated reading of chest X-ray, which is available free of cost to the government, Patel said. It has been deployed in eight states and Union Territories under the NTEP to analyze X-rays of presumptive TB cases, the minister

Centre to expand its TB elimination campaign all over India: JP Nadda

This comes after the government's 100-day intensified TB screening campaign concluded on March 24, which is also World TB Day

World Tuberculosis Day 2025: Is India on track to eliminate TB by 2025?

World TB Day is celebrated every year on March 24 in an effort towards the disease's eradication. In 2018, India launched the 'TB Free India Campaign' with the goal of eradicating tuberculosis by 2025

Centre set to expand TB programme nationwide, extend 100-day campaign

Initially implemented in 445 districts, the initiative has shown significant success in TB detection and treatment, prompting authorities to consider scaling it up nationwide

World Tuberculosis Day 2025: History, significance, theme, symptoms, & more

World Tuberculosis Day is observed every year to recognise the ongoing battle against the world's deadliest disease that primarily affects the lungs