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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TB Symptoms: For almost three years, COVID-19 remained the largest cause of deaths from any single infectious disease in the world. Between 2020 and 2023, this virus took the lives of about 70 lakh people. But in 2023, this dreadful record again returned to TB. According to WHO, even today about 3,400 people lose their lives due to TB every day, and about 30,000 new people fall prey to this disease, whereas TB is a disease which can be prevented and completely cured with timely identification and treatment.

TB remains a major health problem worldwide, especially in countries where social challenges such as poverty, malnutrition and poor quality of life are severe. TB is an infectious disease, caused by a bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The disease does not spread that easily; out of every 100 people infected with TB bacteria, only 5 to 10 show symptoms or develop the disease. Despite this, it is estimated that about a quarter of the world’s population has at some time or the other come in contact with TB bacteria.

According to Assist360, the biggest problem with TB is its multi-layered nature. Its symptoms resemble those of many other infections, so identification takes time; The treatment is long, in which antibiotics have to be taken for 6 to 9 months. Its germs can exist for a long time in closed, airless places.

How many stages of TB?

If we talk about how many stages it has, then let us tell you that there are 3 stages of this dangerous disease.

exposure

This is the initial stage, when TB germs enter the body. The immune system blocks most of them, but some microscopic bacteria survive and can later develop into a hidden infection (latent TB).

Latent TB

In this stage TB is present in the body but is not active. Symptoms may not be visible, but the bacteria may become active in the future. That means there remains a possibility of developing the disease.

active TB

In this stage, TB germs start growing in the body and symptoms start appearing. This stage is contagious, it spreads to others through small particles spread in the air by coughing or sneezing. If not treated, it can lead to serious problems and even death.

Common symptoms of TB

• persistent cough
• Chest pain
• weakness
• Tiredness
• weight loss
• Fever
• night sweats

Symptoms also depend on which part of the body TB is affecting. TB is most common in the lungs, but it can also affect the liver, brain, spine and skin.

TB treatment

The standard treatment for TB is a course of antibiotics lasting 6 months. Without treatment, the risk of death from TB is about 50 percent, but with proper and complete treatment, about 85 percent of the patients recover completely. If the bacteria do not respond to medicines, it is called drug-resistant TB. Its treatment is difficult, long and requires more medicines. MDR-TB (multi-drug resistant TB) is seen in about 11 to 12 percent of cases, and its success rate is much lower than typical TB. MDR-TB often spreads when patients skip treatment or take medicines incorrectly. In crowded places it can reach others also.

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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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New TB Technology: This time, in the annual conference on lung diseases in the world, Delft Imaging and IPCON have jointly launched a new AI platform named CAD4TB+. This platform, for the first time, connects TB identification, monitoring, finding hotspots and where the infection may increase in the future, all in one place. According to health experts, this is a big step in the fight against TB, because TB is still the deadliest infectious disease in the world.

Identification of TB patients difficult

According to the latest report of the World Health Organization, in 2024, 1 crore 7 lakh people will get TB and more than 12 lakh people will die. The most dangerous thing is that about 24 lakh patients are not identified, due to which the disease continues to spread. Especially in areas like Africa, TB cases and deaths are high. Even today, TB testing is not done properly in many countries. People living in remote and vulnerable areas are left out of screening. CAD4TB+ fills this gap. It combines Delft’s AI X-ray technology and EPCON’s data system to tell where TB is high, where it is low and where it is likely to spread.

What do experts say?

Guido Geerts, CEO of Delft Imaging, said that early detection of TB is very important, especially in places that are difficult to reach. He said that with the help of CAD4TB, 5.5 crore people have been screened so far and after the new platform CAD4TB+, this work will become faster and more accurate. Caroline van Cauwelaert, CEO of EPCON, said that the aim of this partnership is to directly link field investigations to country-level planning. According to him, “Each X-ray will no longer be just a report of a patient, but will be an important data point to understand how TB is spreading in the country.”

Results of this system have been found in many countries

In Nigeria, it helped in identifying TB hotspots and catching more patients in those places. With the help of AI in South Africa, the cost of finding patients reduced significantly. Similarly, CAD4TB is being used in more than 90 countries of the world and more than 120 scientific researches also support it. This technology helps in early detection, so that treatment can start early and deaths can be prevented.

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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.

Check out below Health Tools-
Calculate Your Body Mass Index (BMI)

Calculate The Age Through Age Calculator