Why in News?

• WHO has released the 2019 edition of the Global Tuberculosis Report recently. The report provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the TB epidemic and progress in the response at global, regional and country levels for India.

Key Findings of the Report:

• Around 10 million people developed TB in 2018 and three million sufferers “are not getting the care they need”.
• Countries where people suffer most are China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and South Africa.
• Although the 2018 TB toll was marginally better than in 2017, the burden remains stubbornly high among poor and marginalized populations, particularly those with HIV.
• Drug resistance remains another obstacle, WHO maintained, with 2018 seeing an estimated half a million new cases of drug-resistant TB.
• There is massive and chronic underfunding for TB research estimated at $1.2 billion a year. On top of this, the shortfall for TB prevention and care is estimated at $3.3 billion in 2019.
• The World Health Assembly-approved Global TB Strategy aims for a 90 per cent reduction in TB deaths and an 80 per cent reduction in the TB incidence rate by 2030 compared with 2015 levels.

Status in India:

• The report notes that in 2017, India had 27.4 lakh TB patients which came down to 26.9 lakh in 2018.
• Incidence per 1,00,000 population has decreased from 204 in 2017 to 199 in 2018.
• The number of patients being tested for rifampicin resistance has increased from 32% in 2017 to 46% in 2018.
• And the treatment success rate has increased to 81% for new and relapse cases (drug sensitive) in 2017, which was 69% in 2016.
• TB remains the top infectious killer in the world claiming over 4,000 lives a day.
• This report presents progress towards targets set at the first-ever United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting on TB in 2018 as well as the targets of the WHO End TB Strategy and Sustainable Development Goals.

Government Interventions Taken:

• The India TB-Report 2019notes that India is closest ever to covering all TB cases through the online notification system (NIKSHAY).
• National Strategic Plan (NSP) to end TB

a) It encapsulates the bold and innovative steps required to eliminate TB in Indiaby the year 2025.

b) Objective (Detect-Treat-Prevent-Build)

• Detect:Find all Drug Sensitive TB and Drug Resistant TB cases with an emphasis on reaching TB patients seeking care from private providers and undiagnosed TB in high-risk populations.
• Treat:Initiate and sustain all patients on appropriate anti-TB treatment wherever they seek care, with patient friendly systems and social support.

• Preventthe emergence of TB in susceptible populations.
• Buildand strengthen enabling policies, empowered institutions, additional human resources with enhanced capacities, and provide adequate financial resources.

About Tuberculosis:

• TB is caused by Bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs.
• Transmission:TB is spread from person to person through the air. When people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit, they propel the TB germs into the air.
• Symptoms:Cough with sputum and blood at times, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats.
• Treatment:TB is treatable and curable disease. It is treated with a standard 6 month course of 4 antimicrobial drugs that are provided with information, supervision and support to the patient by a health worker or trained volunteer.
• Anti-TB medicines have been used for decades and strains that are resistant to 1 or more of the medicines have been documented in every country surveyed.

1.Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB)is a form of TB caused by bacteria that do not respond to isoniazid and rifampicin, the 2 most powerful, first-line anti-TB drugs. MDR-TB is treatable and curable by using second-line drugs.

2.Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB)is a more serious form of MDR-TB caused by bacteria that do not respond to the most effective second-line anti-TB drugs, often leaving patients without any further treatment options.

About WHO:

• The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health.
• Established in 1948, it succeeded the Health Organization, which was an agency of the League of Nations.
• It is a member of the United Nations Development Group and its headquarters is located at Geneva.