TB notifications register fall due to pandemic disruptions

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

Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2021

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.

Of the reported 24.04 lakh TB cases in 2019, treatment success was 82%, mortality rate was 4%, 4% patients were lost to follow up and treatment failure and regimen change after initiation of treatment was about 3%.

The approved budgets toward the programme have increased substantially, from ₹640 crore in 2016-17 to ₹3,333 crores in 2019-20, however, there was a fall in budget to ₹3,110 crore in 2020-21.

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. This is a significant decline from 2019.