"Expansion of Molecular Diagnostic Facilities Aids TB Patient Care: Centre's Initiative"

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As per the Global TB Report 2023, published by the World Health Organization, the estimated number of drug-resistant TB in India has reduced by 21% from 1.4 lakhs in 2015 to 1.1 lakhs in 2022. The Government has scaled up the availability of molecular diagnostic facilities and thereby there has been an increase in the proportion of TB patients being screened for the presence of drug resistance. The State wise data of DR-TB cases for the last three years and the current year so far, is placed as Annexure-I.

There has been a regular supply of Anti-TB drugs to all the State/UTs from the central level under the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) throughout the year and regular assessments are conducted to evaluate the stock positions at various levels, from central warehouses to peripheral health institutes. Further, State/UTs have been provisioned with resources for local procurement for limited quantities as and when required to meet the emergent requirements.

The steps taken by the government for early diagnosis and treatment of Drug Resistant TB are as under:

1) the availability of molecular diagnostics has been scaled up to 6196 Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) machines to cover all districts of the country. In addition, 91 Line Probe Assay and 69 liquid culture testing laboratories have been established for the diagnosis of multi-drug resistance.

2) Universal Drug Susceptibility Testing (UDST) is implemented to ensure every diagnosed TB patient is tested to rule out drug resistance at the time of diagnosis.

3) Newer drugs like Bedaquiline and Delamanid have been introduced for the management of drug-resistant TB.

4) Decentralized DR-TB treatment services are offered through 792 DR-TB Centres across the country.

The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

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Annexure-I

S.No	State-wise MDR/RR TB patients diagnosed for 2020-2023*
S.No	State/Uts	MDR/RR-TB Diagnosed (2020)	MDR/RR-TB Diagnosed (2021)	MDR/RR-TB diagnosed (2022)	MDR/RR-TB diagnosed (Jan-Oct 2023)
1	Andaman & Nicobar Islands	51	41	35	35
2	Andhra Pradesh	1380	1513	1536	1038
3	Arunachal Pradesh	224	222	177	102
4	Assam	782	448	826	781
5	Bihar	2974	3240	4447	3715
6	Chandigarh	46	72	74	142
7	Chhattisgarh	316	376	450	359
8	Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu	42	40	22	25
9	Delhi	2024	1580	3081	3337
10	Goa	47	54	59	30
11	Gujarat	2822	2667	2784	2577
12	Haryana	1441	1283	2096	1729
13	Himachal Pradesh	209	207	238	186
14	Jammu & Kashmir	118	149	171	131
15	Jharkhand	860	896	1246	980
16	Karnataka	1498	1248	1755	1384
17	Kerala	187	186	282	281
18	Ladakh	10	4	4	4
19	Lakshadweep	0	0	1	0
20	Madhya Pradesh	3208	2359	3587	3218
21	Maharashtra	8085	9608	11562	8819
22	Manipur	65	75	96	43
23	Meghalaya	263	235	251	214
24	Mizoram	164	122	113	103
25	Nagaland	105	104	96	72
26	Odisha	461	439	568	428
27	Puducherry	13	19	23	79
28	Punjab	716	638	889	772
29	Rajasthan	3590	2474	4412	3816
30	Sikkim	231	243	205	116
31	Tamil Nadu	1377	1317	1688	1567
32	Telangana	1327	1152	1719	1277
33	Tripura	31	20	36	35
34	Uttar Pradesh	12329	12339	15566	13870
35	Uttarakhand	481	490	618	445
36	West Bengal	2202	2372	3088	2367