Tuberculosis notifications fall due to pandemic disruptions

Description

Context: According to the India TB report released by the Health Ministry in 2020, there were 18.05 tuberculosis notifications, which was a fall of 24% from 2019 due to the disruptions caused by the pandemic.

Details:

The report said between January and February 2020, the notifications were on an upward trajectory, with 6% more cases reported in the same period in 2019.
As a result of the lockdown, notifications in the public sector fell by 38% and 44% in the private sector in April and May.
As per the report over 95% of all cases reported were initiated on treatment in 2020 and the treatment success rate for patients reported in 2019 was 82% (83% among patients in the public sector and 79% in the private).
The report said 20,892 (42%) of patients were initiated on a shorter MDR-TB regimen at the time of diagnosis.

About TB in India:

India accounts for about a quarter of the global TB burden. In 2019 the estimated TB incidence was 2,640,000.
In 2019 an estimated 9,700 HIV positive people died due to TB disease , and an estimated 440,000 HIV negative people died. 2. There are some more TB statistics for India.
India is also the country with the second highest number (after South Africa) of estimated HIV associated TB cases.
There are many reasons why people in India seek care from the private sector. These include:
- poor knowledge of TB;
- poor knowledge of services available through the national public program;
- the convenience of services in the private sector;
- a desire for confidentiality;
- a desire for personalized care.

TB Facts:

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain.
Not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick. As a result, two TB-related conditions exist: latent TB infection (LTBI) and TB disease.
If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal.