13 per cent increase in India's tuberculosis cases in 2022, Delhi tops list
Of the total cases, about 39 per cent were females, 5.6 per cent belonged to the paediatric age group (less than or equal to 14 years of age) and 23.6 per cent were 55 years or above, the report said.
Published: 27th March 2023 11:03 AM | Last Updated: 27th March 2023 11:03 AM | A+A A-
Image used for illustrative purposes only. (Express illustrations)
NEW DELHI: India saw a 13 per cent increase in tuberculosis cases in 2022 compared to 2021, according to the annual India TB report. It said there was a brief decline in TB notifications in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) recorded a high notification of 24.2 lakh cases, an increase of 13 per cent as compared to 2021.
This translates to a case notification rate of approximately 172 cases per lakh population, according to the report titled, ‘Leading the way – India TB report 2023.’
In 2021, India saw a 19 per cent increase in new and relapsed tuberculosis (TB) patients compared to 2020. In 2022, the highest case notification rate among states was in Delhi (546 per lakh population) and the lowest in Kerala (67 per lakh population).
Of the total cases, about 39 per cent were females, 5.6 per cent belonged to the paediatric age group (less than or equal to 14 years of age) and 23.6 per cent were 55 years or above, the report said. The report also said 2022 saw the highest private TB case notifications achieved at 7.3 lakh.
The treatment initiation rate among the notified cases for 2022 was 95.5 per cent. In 2019-2021, a higher prevalence of pulmonary TB was found in older age groups, including males, malnourished, smokers, alcoholics and known diabetics.
It was also found that the majority (64 per cent) of TB-symptomatic individuals did not seek health care.
The common reasons cited for not seeking care were ignoring the symptoms (68 per cent), not recognising the signs to be that of TB (18 per cent), self-treatment (12 per cent), and not being able to afford care (2 per cent), said the report, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of World TB Day on Friday at Varanasi.
He also launched the TB-Mukt Panchayat Initiative and New Shorter Regimen for TB Preventive Therapy to raise awareness about TB and prevent the spread of the disease. The report said 2022 saw an increase of 32 per cent in the number of Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR)/ Rifampicin-resistant (RR)-TB cases compared to 2021. In 2022, the total number of patients diagnosed was 63,801. The estimated incidence of MDR/RR-TB in 2021 was 119,000 (93,000-145,000), as per the Global TB Report 2022.
Country aims to eradicate TB by 2025
- With 28 per cent of global cases, India is among the 8 countries that account for more than two-thirds total TB patient count
- TB case notification rate is approximately 172 cases per lakh population in India
- In 2022, the highest case notification rate among states was in Delhi at 546 per lakh population; lowest in Kerala at 67 per lakh population
- Of the total cases in India, about 39 per cent were females, 5.6 per cent belonged to the paediatric age group and 23.6 per cent were 55 years or above
