EMN
Dimapur, May 1
Health authorities in Nagaland have detected more than 3,000 cases of tuberculosis in Nagaland this year. The number of tuberculosis cases in the northeastern state appear to have remained primarily consistent in the 3, 000 region.
Funds for anti-tuberculosis campaigns in the state shows a comparative increased though.
On April 29, Union Health Minister JP Nadda told the Lok Sabha in New Delhi that the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported in the year 2014 2.2 million cases in India.
The number accounts 23 percent of global cases.
“However, this high number is because of our large population even though the incidence, prevalence and mortality due to TB in India has been consistently declining over the last 15 years and India has also achieved the Millennium Development Goal and has halved the TB prevalence and mortality as compared to 1990 levels,” the minister said.
Amongst the 22 high-burden countries in the world, India ranks 17 in incidence. According to the WHO Global TB Reports from 2013 to 2015, the estimated proportion of Multi- Drug Resistant TB Cases in India is not increasing.
The proportion of MDR cases is estimated to be in between 1.9 – 2.6 percent among new TB cases and between 11- 19 percent among retreatment cases.
“However, the detection of MDR-TB cases has been increasing due to availability of more diagnostic facilities for MDR TB and coverage of the entire country through Programmatic Management of Drug Resistant TB under the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP), achieved between 2007 and 2013,” Nadda said.
The RNTCP was launched more than 20 years back.
Since then, changes have been effected in the program from time to time, so as to further improve the campaign and its reach.
The RNTCP is the state-run tuberculosis control initiative of the Government of India. As per the National Strategic Plan 2012–17, the program has a vision of achieving a “TB free India”, and aims to achieve Universal Access to TB control services
