Tuberculosis Epidemiology and its Diagnostic Modality

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health emergency, with India being the epicenter, recording 2.23 million cases and approximately 4.53 lakhs deaths in 2021. Despite efforts by the National Tuberculosis Eradication Program (NTEP), the anticipated decrease in the incidence and prevalence of TB has not been actualized. This paper examines the persistently high rates of TB in India, identifying critical risk factors such as male gender, marital status, overcrowding, socioeconomic disadvantages, HIV comorbidity, pre-existing conditions like diabetes, family history, and substance use like smoking and alcohol. Some of the Patients are diagnosed but they are missed from treatment because of patient negligence leading to drug resistant TB. The escalation of drug-resistant TB strains, including MDR and XDR, poses a significant hurdle to effective TB management. One infectious TB patient can spread the disease to ten people in a year. Pulmonary TB especially Pediatric Tuberculosis and pulmonary tuberculosis has an impact on this situation. The potential diagnostic modalities—phenotypic, genotypic, and immunological methods are widely used, each of the method has its own demerits which may delay the Treatment in TB patient. Immunological techniques though it is easier to perform but it correlates with other diseases resulting in wrong diagnosis, thus these techniques are not recommended for active TB diagnosis. The advanced technique with an emphasis on real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays is discussed. The findings underscore the urgent need for an enhanced understanding of TB's risk factors and the integration of robust diagnostic approaches to fortify control strategies and mitigate the TB burden in India.