MUMBAI: Tuberculosis detection in Mumbai dropped by 30% in 2020 due to lockdown imposed due to Covid-19. From 60,597 new
TB patients diagnosed in 2019, the number dropped to 43,464, according to data released by BMC on the eve of World TB Day.
Also,
Covid affected only 241 registered TB patients in the city in 2020.
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The Centre’s recognition for BMC’s efforts to fight TB is good news, but a lot needs to be done before we can eliminate TB. It continues to be one of the leading causes for death in India, including Mumbai. There is a need to upgrade diagnostics so that TB is caught at the earliest and people get quicker access to new life-saving drugs. More government and business funding is needed to innovate and check the old pestilence.
There is, however, good news in the TB sphere in 2021. “Detections have normalised this year, with over 5,000 new patients detected in January and February each,” said Dr Pranita Tipre, in-charge of TB in Mumbai.
Four TB districts in Mumbai where the largest anti-TB fight was launched in 2012 after the discovery of extremely drug resistant TB cases have won central government recognition for reducing the disease burden.
While
Parel TB district has bagged a silver medal for reducing the incidence by 40%, three Ghatkopar, Prabhadevi and Grant Road have bagged bronze for reducing the incidence by 20%. India has set a goal of eliminating TB by 2025.
While there was widespread concern in 2020 about the impact of Covid-19 on TB, statistics show the incidence of Covid-19 among TB patients was not as high as feared.
In 2020, only 241 of the 13,155 TB patients tested for Covid turned positive.
While no deaths were registered due to Covid in 2020, in the last three months, three TB patients died due to Covid. Around 42 out of 1,956 TB patients were tested in 2021 so far.
BMC statistics for 2020-2021 showed that the number of drug-resistant TB patients continued to be roughly 10% of the total TB burden. In 2020, only 4,367 out of the 43,464 TB patients had multi-drug resistant TB.
Extremely drug resistant TB affected 200 in Mumbai in 2020.
The BMC team also said over 90,000 people were tested for TB in 2020. “This proves that the system worked well, but people from outside the city who seek treatment here could not make it due to lockdown,” Dr Tipre added.
BMC has not released TB deaths data as it is still being computed, said officials.