India Reaches Milestone of Completing 10,000 TB Genome Sequences
New Delhi: In a significant breakthrough in the fight against tuberculosis, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh announced the completion of genome sequencing of 10,000 isolates of ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' at a summit organised on the occasion of ''World TB Day'' at Vigyan Bhawan here.
The achievement marks a major stride in India's commitment to eradicating TB ahead of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2030 targets.
Addressing a gathering of leading medical academicians, health scientists, researchers, and senior officials, Dr. Jitendra Singh highlighted the government's ambitious efforts to eliminate tuberculosis five years before the WHO’s global goal. He underscored the importance of collaborative research and the need for a whole-of-science, whole-of-government, and whole-of-mission approach to achieve this target.
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The genome sequencing initiative is part of the Dare2eraD TB program (Data Driven Research to Eradicate TB), launched on March 24, 2022, which focuses on data-driven research to eradicate TB. A key component of this initiative is the Indian Tuberculosis Genomic Surveillance (InTGS) Consortium, spearheaded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), in collaboration with major clinical institutions. The program aims to sequence over 32,000 TB isolates to identify drug resistance mutations and improve treatment outcomes.
Dr. Jitendra Singh emphasized that the deep genomic dataset being developed has the potential to revolutionize TB diagnostics and drug resistance prediction. He noted that genome sequencing can significantly improve diagnostic accuracy and enable faster resistance profiling, reducing the time needed to determine effective treatments from weeks to mere hours or days. This, he said, will help in tailoring treatment regimens to individual patient needs and reduce the risk of treatment failure or relapse.
Drawing from his own medical background, Dr. Jitendra Singh reflected on the historical challenges of TB treatment in India, from the stigma surrounding the disease to the evolution of medical advancements. He called for greater community engagement, emphasizing that TB eradication is not just a scientific or medical challenge but a societal one. "Unless we involve common people, raise their consciousness, and evoke their participation, our fight against TB will remain incomplete," he said.
Appreciating the pioneering scientific advancements and their instrumental role in fight against tuberculosis, Hon’ble Minister said that while phenotypic drug-susceptibility tests and M. tuberculosis culture are generally regarded as the gold standard for diagnosis, genome sequencing technologies are increasingly being applied for strain identification and drug resistance prediction, providing valuable insights for clinical decision-making and surveillance activities.
He also added that the adoption of molecular methods for TB diagnosis and resistance testing remains uneven, significantly influenced by socioeconomic disparities across countries. To fight the incessant TB, it is important to propel these innovations to scale and embed them into real-world implementation.
Dr. Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary DBT, hailed the completion of 10,000 genome sequences as a milestone achievement, adding that the data will be instrumental in strengthening India's TB surveillance and diagnostic capabilities. He stressed the importance of translating this research into practical applications that can be scaled up for real-world impact.
The event also saw the participation of senior officials including Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, Director General CSIR; Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Director General ICMR; and Dr. M. Srinivas, Director AIIMS, among others.
Dr. Jitendra Singh appreciated the proactive and visionary initiatives to support transformative innovations for a more robust pipeline of tools that can overcome the translational challenges and better prepare India to address TB than ever before.
With India accounting for a significant portion of the global TB burden, this breakthrough in genome sequencing is expected to bolster national and global efforts to combat the disease. The government’s continued investment in cutting-edge research, coupled with policy interventions and community participation, could pave the way for a TB-free India well ahead of its 2025 target.
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