No drug-resistant TB case in India: Health ministry team

A Central team on Friday said there were no cases of total drug-resistant tuberculosis reported in the country and the cases made out by a Mumbai hospital fall in the category of extensively drug-resistant TB.

The central team comprising senior Chief Medical Officer, Central TB Division, Consultant (Drug Resistant TB), and National Programme Pfficer (laboratory) was sent to Mumbai on Tuesday following reports of P D Hinduja hospital detecting first cases of total drug resistant TB in India.

The team submitted its report to the health ministry on Friday.

"The reported cases by Hinduja hospital fall only within the category of Extensively Drug Resistant TB (XDR-TB) based on standard WHO definitions and not at all as 'Totally Drug Resistant' TB (TDR-TB)," a health ministry statement said.

According to the report, out of the 12 reported patients, nine were traced and found to be stable on the current treatment while three had died.

Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme Maharashtra will adopt all these cases and offer them the entire treatment free of cost, it said.

The report of the central team said isolation of these cases was not advocated as this was a chronic disease and the transmissibility was reduced drastically by treatment.

Following the cases, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai and the Maharashtra government have decided to strengthen the TB service delivery systems in the city.