Growing MDR-TB cases in India

PSM News /

Drug-resistant strains of TB arise when an antibiotic fails to kill all of the bacteria that it targets. The surviving bacteria become resistant to that particular drug and often to other antibiotics as well. MDR-TB occurs when the patient is resistant to the two most potent TB drugs - isoniazid and rifampin.

 

Drug-resistant TB has existed in India automatically since anti-TB drugs were introduced in the country. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) carried out state-of-the-art surveys for drug-resistant TB more than 40 years ago and surveys have continued since then.

 

The Burden of TB and MDR-TB in India

 

India has the highest TB burden of any country in the world, accounting for an estimated one-fifth of global TB cases worldwide. It has an estimated existence of 3 million TB cases, with 2 million new cases occurring each year. About 280,000 people die from TB in India annually. India has the second highest burden of MDR TB in the world after China, with an estimated 99,000 new cases per year.

 

Preventing Drug-Resistant TB

 

To combat drug-resistant TB, the Revised National TB Control Program (RNTCP) has developed a multiphase response plan; the plan calls for improving and sustaining high-quality DOTS implementation, promoting the rational use of anti-TB drugs, and implementing infection control measures.

 

Airborne infection control is crucial for preventing the spread of TB from person to person, as well as reducing the risk of TB among people and health workers.

 

The high incidence of TB and MDR-TB in India is because of years of policy failure. The government initially ignored the drug-resistant TB patients, pretending they didn't exist, allowing the numbers to proliferate.

 

The growing number of multi drug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis threatens to derail decades of progress in controlling the disease. PSM-India appeals to the government to scale up their programmes for the compassionate use of new life-saving drugs, such as bedaquiline and delamanid to fight MDR-TB in India.