World Tuberculosis Day 2017: Rise of multidrug-resistant TB threatens India

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New Delhi: Rise of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis threatens to derail the progress made by nations, including India.

India is also among the six countries that account for 60 per cent of the total TB cases globally, a study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine said.

In 2015, there were an estimated 4.8 lakh cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) globally, with approximately half of these cases being in India, China, and Russia, the study said.

"But, migration and travel mean that drug-resistant TB strains have emerged in almost every parts of the world," it said, adding, "New antibiotics are becoming available for the first time.

But without accurate diagnostics, clear treatment guidelines and improved control efforts, their effectiveness could be rapidly lost."

"The rise of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis threatens to derail decades of progress in controlling the disease," the new study said.

The study comes ahead of World TB day on March 24.

Tuberculosis kills more people each year than any other infectious disease, including HIV/AIDS.

(With PTI inputs)