Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by an infection with a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Only some infected people develop active TB whereas others have latent TB i.e. the bacteria reside in the body without causing immediate illness. TB commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but may affect other areas like the brain, kidney and spine.
Symptoms
- Fever
- Fatigue
- Lack of appetite
- Weight loss
- Persistent cough in pulmonary TB
- Coughing up blood (haemoptysis) in advanced disease
Transmission
- Person-to-person by exposure to bacteria in the air when an infected person coughs or speaks
- A person with TB may spread the infection to up to 4 people in close contact
Vaccination
- Immunisation with the Bacillus-Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine can protect children from TB
Incidence
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In India, the incidence of all forms of TB was estimated to be 188 per 100,000 population in 2020
- When compared with the incidence in 2015, the incidence in 2020 had declined by 20%–40% in most areas (28 districts, 1 union territory and 1 state), 40%–60% in 4 districts and 60%–80% in 1 district
- In 2021, the total number of incident TB patients (1.93 million) increased by 19% compared with 2020 (1.63 million)
References
- Furin J, Cox H, Pai M. Tuberculosis. Lancet. 2019;393(10181):1642-1656.
- Pai M, Behr MA, Dowdy D, et al. Tuberculosis. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2016;2:16076.
- Ma Y, Horsburgh CR, White LF, Jenkins HE. Quantifying TB transmission: a systematic review of reproduction number and serial interval estimates for tuberculosis. Epidemiol Infect. 2018;146(12):1478-1494.
- Jeyashree K, Thangaraj J, Rade K, et al. Estimation of tuberculosis incidence at subnational level using three methods to monitor progress towards ending TB in India, 2015-2020. BMJ Open. 2022;12(7):e060197
- Central TB Division, Government of India. India TB Report 2022. Available at: https://tbcindia.gov.in/WriteReadData/IndiaTBReport2022/TBAnnaulReport2022.pdf Accessed 7th February, 2023.