Global Tuberculosis Report 2023

• World Health Organisation recently released the Global TB Report.

MAJOR FINDINGS

• There was a major global recovery in the number of people diagnosed with TB and treated in 2022, after two years of COVID-related disruptions
• TB still remains the world’s second leading cause of death from a single infectious agent.
• Global TB targets have either been missed or remain off track.
• The net reduction from 2015 to 2022 was 8.7%, far from the WHO End TB Strategy milestone of a 50% reduction by 2025.
• The reported global number of people newly diagnosed with TB was 5 million in 2022.
• TB caused an estimated 1.30 million deaths in 2022.

INDIA SPECIFIC FINDINGS

• India carried the highest burden of tuberculosis (TB ) cases in the world in 2022, the report said.
• Around 87% of the world’s total cases in 2022 emerged from 30 high TB-burden countries, with two-third of the cases registered from eight countries.
  • India with 27 per cent ranked highest, followed by Indonesia (10 per cent), China (7.1 per cent), the Philippines (7 per cent), Pakistan (5.7 per cent), Nigeria (4.5 per cent), Bangladesh (3.6 per cent) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (3 per cent).
• In India, 8 million cases of TB were registered and of them, 342,000 people (12 per cent) died due to the disease, the report said.
• The “net decrease in TB-related deaths from 2015 to 2022 was 19 per cent, falling far short of the WHO End TB Strategy milestone of a 75 percent reduction by 2025”.

HEALTH MINISTRY RESPONSE

• India’s efforts have resulted in the reduction of TB incidence by 16 per cent from 2015 to 2022, almost double the pace at which global TB incidence is declining, which is 8.7 per cent.
• TB mortality has also reduced by 18% during the same period in India.

ABOUT TUBERCULOSIS

• Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
• The most common affected organs ones are lungs, pleura (lining around the lungs), lymph nodes, intestines, spine, and brain.
• It is spread through inhaling tiny droplets from the coughs or sneezes of an infected person.
• Symptoms include cough with sputum and blood at times, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats.

TYPES

• 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.
  • It is treatable and curable by using second-line drugs such as Bedaquiline.
• Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) is a more serious form of MDR-TB caused by bacteria resistant to isoniazid and rifampin, plus any fluoroquinolone and at least one of three injectable second-line drugs.
• Totally drugresistant tuberculosis (TDR-TB): Resistant to all first- and secondline TB drugs.