3.01 lakh new TB cases identified under 100-day Control Campaign: MoS Health

New Delhi: Taking steps towards eradicating tuberculosis (TB), the Government of India has launched the 100-Day TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan in 347 priority districts across 33 States and Union Territories. As part of the initiative, 9.02 crore vulnerable individuals were screened, leading to the identification of 3.01 lakh new TB cases. During this period, 1.58 lakh TB patients completed their treatment.

The campaign, which ran from December 7, 2024, to March 14, 2025, aimed to accelerate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to TB elimination.

This information was shared by the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Smt. Anupriya Patel in the Lok Sabha. Altogether, 34 parliament members raised queries regarding multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

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Seeking a response to their queries, the members sought to know from MoS Health whether the Government has launched TB Free India Campaign across the country and the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to ensure that TB patients complete their treatment plan in cases of Multi Drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) where completing the full course of treatment is a significant challenge along with the details of funding being made available in this regard and the primary target for TB Free India Campaign along with the targeted year for achieving the same.

Further, they also sought a response regarding how TB Free India Campaign addresses the challenges of Multi Drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), the specific awareness campaigns and interventions being undertaken to reduce TB stigma and encourage seeking early healthcare behaviour particularly in Amroha Parliamentary Constituency of Uttar Pradesh along with the number of awareness or health camps organised in Sidhi Parliamentary Constituency under the TB Free India Campaign; and whether the Government is considering procurement and deployment of additional portable/handheld X-ray equipments in areas with higher number of TB disease particularly in the said Constituency

Responding to these queries, the Minister stated in his written reply that the Government, under the National TB Elimination Program (NTEP), has implemented a multi-pronged strategy to ensure Multi-Drug Resistant TB (MDR-TB) patients complete their treatment.

In view of the challenges in the diagnosis and treatment of MDR-TB cases, the Government has taken the following specific measures:

● Universal Drug Susceptibility Testing (UDST) is implemented to ensure every diagnosed TB patient is tested for drug resistance at the time of diagnosis.

● Scaling up molecular diagnostic laboratories to 8,295 Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) machines to cover all districts of the country.

● 100 Line Probe Assay and 69 liquid culture testing laboratories have been established for diagnosis of multi drug resistance.

● 6 National Reference Laboratories and 34 Intermediate Reference Laboratories have been established in the country.

● 826 Drug Resistant TB treatment centres have been established across all districts.

● In 2021, a shorter, safer, all-oral drug-resistant TB treatment regimen has been introduced.

● In 2024, a newer, shorter and more efficacious treatment regimen (BPaLM) consisting of a four-drug combination – Bedaquiline, Pretomanid, Linezolid and Moxifloxacin has been introduced for the management of drug-resistant TB Universal.

● A nutritional support scheme implemented for providing Rs 1000 per month to all TB patients, including MDR-TB cases, throughout treatment

"The primary target of 100 Days Intensified TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan launched on 7th December 2024, is to detect TB cases early, reduce TB-related mortality and prevent new cases among the vulnerable population. As part of Jan Bhagidari, efforts have been made for a whole of government approach to raise awareness, reduce stigma and improve health-seeking behaviour among the vulnerable population. Through this campaign, vulnerable populations were mobilized with the involvement of the private sector, civil society organizations, local community volunteers and health workers in all focus districts, including Amroha district of Uttar Pradesh and Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh," said the Minister.

During the campaign period, 4,324 and 2,456 Ni-kshay shivirs were reported to have been organised in Amroha and Sidhi districts, respectively, to provide awareness and screening of the vulnerable population.

The Minister further informed the parliament that to enhance the availability of hand-held X-rays in high-burden areas, the government has approved procurement for central supplies. In addition, based on need, adequate provisions for procurement have been made through the National Health Mission for States/UTs.

Medical Dialogues recently reported that Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Smt. Anupriya Patel inaugurated the India Innovation Summit - Pioneering Solutions to End TB, at Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre. The Summit was organized jointly by the Department of Health Research-Indian Council of Medical Research (DHR-ICMR) and the Central TB Division (CTD), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW). The summit aims to accelerate India's progress towards TB elimination by 2025.

Citing the WHO’s Global TB Report 2024, Smt. Patel stated that “the incidence rate of TB in India has shown a 17.7% decline from 237 per lakh population in 2015 to 195 per lakh population in 2023. TB deaths have reduced by 21.4% from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 22 per lakh population in 2023.” She also added that “TB treatment coverage in India increased by 32% in last eight years from 53% in 2015 to 85% in 2023.”

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