India continues to have the highest number of tuberculosis cases in the world, the Global TB Report 2017 released by WHO reveals
New Delhi: India continues to have the highest number of tuberculosis (TB) cases in the world, the Global TB Report 2017 released by World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday revealed.
In 2016, there were an estimated 10.4 million new TB cases worldwide. Seven countries accounted for 64% of the total burden, with India having the maximum number of TB patients, followed by Indonesia, China, Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria and South Africa, the report said.
According to the report, in India, an estimated 27.9 lakh patients were suffering from TB in 2016 and up to 4.23 lakh patients were estimated to have died during the year.
According to the report, Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis and a health security threat. WHO estimates that worldwide, there were 600,000 new TB cases with resistance to rifampicin—the most effective first-line drug, of which 490,000 had MDR-TB. Almost half of these cases were in India, China and the Russian Federation.
The report highlighted that underreporting and underdiagnosis of TB cases continue to be a challenge, especially in countries with large unregulated private sectors and weak health systems, including India.
“Of the estimated 10.4 million new cases, only 6.3 million were detected and officially notified in 2016, leaving a gap of 4.1 million. India, Indonesia and Nigeria accounted for almost half of this global gap,” the report stated.
“Only one in five MDR-TB cases was started on treatment. India and China accounted for 39% of the global gap. Treatment success remains low, at 54% globally,” the report said.
Though the Indian government has made several announcements to eliminate TB by 2025, the WHO report showed that up to 27.9 lakh patients were estimated to be infected in the country in 2016. The infection burden in China, a more populous country, is one third of India at 8.95 lakh.
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