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India carries a third of global TB burden. An estimated one in two of the adult population are infected with TB bacterium.
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The estimated incidence of all cases of TB is whopping 185 cases per 10,000 population.
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The TB epidemic continues to grow, every year, two million people develop active tuberculosis (more than any other country in the world).
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More people now die from tuberculosis than ever before -nearly 4,50000 every year. More than 1000 persons die of the disease each day.
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Only one in four people with tuberculosis is treated with DOTS. The current rate of DOTS expansion is still far too slow to reach the global targets by 2005. Failure to reach these targets will condemn millions of people to disease and death.
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Tuberculosis is inflicting enormous socio-economic costs. In India the estimated economic cost of TB is US $ 3 billion per year.
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India’s DOTS programme is mainly financed through a US$ 142 million low interest loan from World Bank with increasing costs already being met by national and state governments.
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The quantum of human cost of TB in the country is 4.56 –6.28 Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYS). (The DALY combines a measurement of premature mortality and morbidity and reflects the 'burden of disease' in a population)
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The cost to the patient for successful treatment of TB averages US$ 100 to US$150, more than half of the annual income of a daily wage labourer. The estimated cost of MDR-TB to an Indian patient is approximately Rs 6500 a month (US$135).
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Research shows that 20% of rural patients and 40% of urban patients borrow money to pay for expenses due to TB.
