India among 6 nations that account for 60% of new TB cases in 2015: WHO report
As per the latest TB report — Global Tuberculosis Report 2016 — published by WHO on Thursday India is among those six nation which accounts for 60% of the new TB cases in 2015. Shockingly, the report reads, “As per the report the TB epidemic is larger than previously estimated, reflecting new surveillance and survey data from India. However, the number of TB deaths and the TB incidence rate continue to fall globally and in India.
Six countries accounted for 60% of the new cases includes Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa. With India being mentioned at the top in the report. In 2015, there were an estimate 10.4 million new TB cases worldwide of which 56% were among men and 34% and 10% among women and children. People living with HIV accounted for 1.2 million of all new TB cases.
Another shocker for India has it has also topped in the list of the three countries that account for 45% multidrug-resistant TB and rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) along with China and Russia. Globally there was a 4.3 million gap between incident and notified cases, with India, Indonesia and Nigeria accounting for almost half of this gap. The report read, “The crisis of MDR-TB detection and treatment continues. In 2015, of the estimated 580 000 people newly eligible for MDR-TB treatment, only 125 000 (20%) were enrolled. Five countries accounted for more than 60% of the gap: India, China, the Russian Federation, Indonesia and Nigeria.”
Around 1.4 million people succumbed to TB in 2015 and around 0.4 million deaths were among patients suffering from HIV. Although the report said that deaths due to TB has fallen by 22% from 2000 to 2015 while it remains one of the top causes of death worldwide in 2015. India, report mentioned accounts for more than one quarter of the world’s TB cases and deaths. While TB incidence remained at only 1.5% from 2014 to 2015 which needs to be reduced to 4-5% annually by 2020 to reach the first milestones of the End TB Strategy the report laid stress upon.
