By Admin 
TB Disease Treatment: More than one-third of the new TB patients diagnosed every year in the world are found in South-East Asia alone. This region is only a fourth part of the world in terms of population, but the burden of TB here is disproportionately high. In its latest report released on Tuesday, November 18, WHO expressed concern over this situation and appealed to countries to take swift action towards eliminating the disease.
According to WHO’s Global Tuberculosis Report 2025, in the year 2024, about 10.7 million people will be infected with TB and 12.3 lakh people will die. Among these, India has the highest number of cases, about 2.71 million. After this comes Bangladesh (3.84 lakh), Myanmar (2.63 lakh), Thailand (1.04 lakh) and Nepal (67 thousand).
What does WHO say?
Dr. Katharina Böhme, Officer-in-Charge of WHO South-East Asia, said that TB still remains a major challenge for health security and development in the region and the poor population is facing the greatest impact. According to him, the most effective measures are disease prevention, early detection, prompt treatment and strong primary health infrastructure. But these steps need to be implemented on a larger scale and faster. The report shows that the regional picture in the year 2024 remained quite uneven. TB rates are still very high in Myanmar and Timor-Leste. 480 to 500 cases for every one lakh population. Whereas in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Thailand this rate remained between 146 to 269. Sri Lanka and Maldives are still considered low-incidence countries.
The biggest challenge in South-East Asia
Another major concern in Southeast Asia is drug-resistant TB. 1.5 lakh new such cases are estimated here in 2024. However, since 2015, the region has recorded a 16 percent decline in TB infection rates, which is better than the global average of 12 percent. But the pace of reduction in deaths is still slow. The TB incidence rate of the region is 201 per lakh, which is much above the global average of 131. Some countries have also shown excellent progress. Bangladesh, India and Thailand have identified more patients than expected, narrowing the detection gap. There has also been a decrease in deaths due to TB as compared to 2015. Especially after Covid, when TB services came back on track. Treatment coverage has crossed 85 percent and the success rate is considered to be the best in the world. Preventive therapy for HIV patients and household contacts has also increased rapidly.
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Disclaimer: This information is based on research studies and expert opinion. Do not consider this as a substitute for medical advice. Before adopting any new activity or exercise, please consult your doctor or relevant specialist.
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