While India accounts for 26% of TB cases in the world, the TB notifications during the period January-June 2020 in India reduced by 25% compared to the same period in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic combined with impacts on care-seeking behaviour threatens to reverse recent progress in reducing the global burden of TB disease, the World … Continue reading Pandemic causes 25% dip in TB notifications in India
Tuberculosis
Trial shows success in treating drug-resistant TB
A 26-week treatment of 109 XDR-TB and MDR-TB patients with three oral drugs — bedaquiline, pretomanid, and linezolid — showed 90% success rate. There were seven deaths and two had a relapse during the six-month follow-up period. A small trial (Nix-TB) undertaken at three sites in South Africa to test the safety and efficacy of … Continue reading Trial shows success in treating drug-resistant TB
India’s TB control programme renamed to reflect its intent on ending TB
India has changed the name of the TB control programme. It is no longer known as the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) but as National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP). The intent behind this is to align the programme with India's goal of eliminating TB by 2025. Beginning January 1, 2020, India’s TB control programme … Continue reading India’s TB control programme renamed to reflect its intent on ending TB
TB diagnosis, treatment sub-optimal in Indian prisons
Screening, diagnosis and treatment of people with tuberculosis is “sub-optimal” in Indian prisons, says a study published recently. Only 79 prisons (50%) screened new inmates at the time of entry, and 92 prisons (59%) carried out periodic or regular screening. As a result, researchers from the Delhi-based International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) … Continue reading TB diagnosis, treatment sub-optimal in Indian prisons
Nandita: Deaf but not out
When she woke up after a short afternoon nap on November 22, 2013, two days after her 24th birthday, Nandita Venkatesan could see her mother and brother talking to her but could understand nothing; she could hear sounds but could not comprehend them. The noisy world around her almost fell silent. Her hearing loss was … Continue reading Nandita: Deaf but not out
About 0.5 million TB patients approaching RNTCP centres are not treated
In 2013, India had about 2.7 million people with TB, which is 23 per cent of the global burden of TB. India also accounted for 27 per cent (760,000) of the world’s “missing” patients — those may not have received effective TB care or may have received potentially suboptimal TB care in India’s private sector. … Continue reading About 0.5 million TB patients approaching RNTCP centres are not treated
Women live four years longer than men in India
People in India live significantly longer now compared with 1990. Life expectancy increased by 6.9 years for men and 10.3 years for women between 1990 and 2013, notes a study published in the British medical journal The Lancet . In 1990, the figures were 57.25 for men and 59.19 for women. This rose to 64.16 … Continue reading Women live four years longer than men in India
Increase in life expectancy more in women in India
A Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 published today (December 18) in the journal The Lancet points out that in the case of India, the life expectancy at birth during the period 1990 to 2013 had increased for both men and women. In the case of men, the increase in life expectancy was from 57.3 … Continue reading Increase in life expectancy more in women in India
IPAQT: subsidised Xpert TB test in private labs gets popular
The number of labs/private hospitals in the country offering the WHO-approved tests like GeneXpert, Line Probe Assay (LPA) for diagnosing TB disease at a subsidised price has reached 54. There are over 10,000 collection centres spread across the country. In eight months since the novel initiative — Improving Access to Affordable & Quality TB Tests … Continue reading IPAQT: subsidised Xpert TB test in private labs gets popular
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