India Has the Highest TB Burden, Says Report

A new report released by the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers revealed that India has the highest tuberculosis (TB) burden ranking with more than 3.8 million cases in 2008 alone.

According to the report, 5,000 new cases occur every day with more than 1,000 deaths.

Tuberculosis - Spread - Symptoms - Diagnosis - Treatment - FAQs
Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, primarily affects the lung. It may spread to other organs.

Speaking at the “Emerging Trends in the Diagnosis & Experimental Chemotherapy of Tuberculosis” program, Ashok Kumar, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers said that the quality of drugs available is far from satisfactory and resistant strains of the disease are emerging across the country.

“The presently used drugs are all fraught with several drawbacks, and have to be administered over six months or more. This usually leads to non-compliance and results in the emergence of drug-resistant strains”, he said.

Source-Medindia
RAS

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