India Records Around 2.1 Million Tuberculosis Cases Annually : WHO
24 April, New Delhi
The incidence of tuberculosis disease in India is around 2.1 million cases annually, as per latest World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Health Minister J P Nadda said it is estimated that around 40 per cent of country’s population is infected with Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes TB in human beings.
He said that under the National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP), diagnosis and treatment facilities including anti-TB drugs are provided free of cost to patients.
Nadda said that designated microscopy centres have been established for quality diagnosis for every one lakh population in the general areas and for every 50,000 population in the tribal, hilly and difficult areas.