UN observes World Tuberculosis Day on March 24

• World Tuberculosis Day is observed on March 24 every year.

• The day aims to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of tuberculosis (TB) and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic.

• The day commemorates Dr. Robert Koch’s landmark announcement on March 24, 1882, that he had discovered Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium responsible for TB. 

• This breakthrough allowed for diagnosis and treatment, ultimately paving the way for modern TB control efforts.

• This year’s theme is ‘Yes! We can end TB!’

• TB remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious killers, claiming over 1.23 million lives and affecting an estimated 10.7 million people in 2024, according to the WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2025.

• Cases are on a downward trajectory for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.

• India accounted for the most number of TB cases in 2024, followed by Indonesia, the Philippines, China, and Pakistan.

• Ending TB globally will require accelerated progress in countries with the highest burden. 

Key facts about TB:

• Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs. It can spread when people who are sick with TB expel bacteria into the air – for example, by coughing.

• Every year, 10 million people fall ill with TB. Despite being a preventable and curable disease, 1.5 million people die from TB each year.

• TB is the leading cause of death of people with HIV and also a major contributor to antimicrobial resistance.

• Most people who develop the disease are adults.

• TB is preventable and curable. About 85 per cent of people who develop TB disease can be successfully treated with a 4/6-month drug regimen. Treatment has the added benefit of curtailing onward transmission of infection.

• Economic and financial barriers can affect access to health care for TB diagnosis and completion of TB treatment; about half of TB patients and their households face catastrophic total costs due to TB disease. 

• Progress towards universal health coverage (UHC), better levels of social protection and multisectoral action on broader TB determinants are all essential to reduce the burden of TB disease.

Treatment

• Tuberculosis disease is treated with special antibiotics.

The most common antibiotics used are:

a) rifampicin

b) isoniazid

c) pyrazinamide

d) ethambutol.

• To be effective, medications need to be taken daily for 4-6 months. 

• It is dangerous to stop the medications early or without medical advice as it can prompt TB bacteria in the body to become resistant to the antibiotics.

• TB that doesn’t respond to standard drugs is called drug-resistant TB and requires treatment with different medicines.

• Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis and a health security threat. 

• MDR-TB is a form of TB caused by bacteria that do not respond to rifampicin and isoniazid, the two most effective first-line TB drugs. 

• MDR-TB is treatable and curable by using other drugs, which tend to be more expensive and with more side effects.

• Only about two in 5 people with drug-resistant TB accessed treatment in 2024.

• People living with HIV are 12 times more likely to fall ill with TB disease than people without HIV. TB is the leading cause of death among people with HIV.

National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme

• India’s TB incidence (new cases emerging each year) reduced by 21 per cent (from 237 per lakh population in 2015 to 187 per lakh population in 2024), as per the WHO’s Global TB Report. 

• This is one of the highest declines in TB incidence globally, outpacing reductions noted among other high-burden countries.

• India’s innovative case finding approach, driven by the swift uptake of newer technologies, decentralisation of services and large scale community mobilisation, has led to the country’s treatment coverage to surge to over 92 per cent in 2024, from 53 per cent in 2015.

• As many as 26.18 lakh TB patients were diagnosed in 2024, out of an estimated incidence of 27 lakh cases. 

• This has helped reduce the number of “missing cases” — those who had TB but were not reported to the programme — from an estimated 15 lakhs in 2015 to less than one lakh in 2024. 

• India’s TB mortality rate has decreased from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 21 per lakh population in 2024, reflecting significant progress in reducing deaths due to TB. 

• Since its launch in December 2024, TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (National TB Elimination Programme) has achieved extensive reach, screening over 19 crore vulnerable individuals for TB across the country leading to the detection of over 24.5 lakh TB patients, including 8.61 lakh asymptomatic TB cases.

• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also expanded nutritional support provided to TB patients. 

• The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) under the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana (NPY) was increased from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 per month per patient for the entire treatment duration. 

• Since its launch in April 2018, Rs 4,406 crore have been disbursed directly into the bank accounts of 1.37 crore beneficiaries.