DRUG RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS IN INDIA - IS IT A MATTER OF CONCERN?

摘要

Control of tuberculosis in India has shown remarkable progress with the entire country being covered under the RNTCP (Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme) by the end of March, 2006. Since the inception, the programme has evaluated more than 24 million people with suspected tuberculosis and has examined more than 100 million sputum slides. More than 6.7 million patients have been initiated on treatment that resulted in saving more than a million TB deaths. The programme has achieved the target of nearly 70 per cent of new sputum positive case detection and over 85 per cent of global target of cure rates. It is imperative that the achievements need to be sustained and maintained. While rapid programme expansion has outpaced the capacity of national and state health authorities to supervise the programme and to maintain high quality, government action is needed to reverse declines in case-detection and cure rates in some states.