The Road to Ending Tuberculosis, The Hindu Editorial Analysis

The Hindu Editorial Analysis: The editorial analysis of The Hindu Newspaper Editorial Articles aimed at simplifying various concepts relevant to the UPSC and other State PSC Exams. The Editorial Analysis helps in expanding the knowledge base as well as framing better quality mains answers. Today’s Hindu Editorial Analysis discusses challenges in ending the Tuberculosis and ways to ending TB as a global health emergency.

The Road to Ending Tuberculosis in News

The Stop TB board of Stop TB Partnership is currently meeting in Varanasi, India, coinciding with World TB Day on March 24th. Despite the current aim of ending TB by 2030, there is still ambiguity around the definitions of “end” and the means of verifying this achievement are not completely established.

Tuberculosis as Global Health Emergency

In 1993, the World Health Organization’s declaration of tuberculosis (TB) as a global health emergency served as a wake-up call for the world.

• The 1993 World Development Report recognized the treatment of TB in adults as the most beneficial among all developmental interventions.
• However, the response to this crisis in the past 30 years has been lacking in urgency and has been focused on processes rather than effective action.

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria

In 2001, Kofi Annan called for action against diseases of poverty at the G7 summit in Okinawa, Japan, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria was established, with the first funds for global TB control being disbursed in 2003.

• Although originally intended for HIV programmes, the Global Fund has become the primary source of additional financing for global TB control.
• However, the Fund’s funding is subject to zero-sum games imposed by its donor constituents and between the champions of the three diseases it was set up to provide additional financing for.
• The StopTB Partnership was established with the goal of ending TB, but it took almost seven years to get formal representation on the board of the Global Fund.

Global Response to Ending TB

Despite the limitations, the global response to TB has been adapting to changes.

• The HIV response has inspired greater engagement with those affected by TB, and advances in molecular diagnostic tools developed for bioterrorism have improved TB diagnosis.
• Social safety programs have been used to address poverty as a driver of the TB epidemic, and the use of mobile and computational data is helping to improve treatment outcomes.
• These approaches are shaping the trajectory of global efforts to end TB.

Road to Ending Tuberculosis

The goal of ending TB by 2030 will be achievable, if following three key areas are strengthened or reimagined.

Development and wide use of an Adult TB Vaccine

The current vaccine, which has been in use for a century and is particularly beneficial for children, needs to be updated.

• The development of COVID-19 vaccines has shown us that collective will and action can produce remarkable results.
• It’s also not surprising that India is a major player in the development of vaccines, with several vaccines currently under development.
• However, the unequal distribution of COVID-19 vaccines highlights the need for equitable distribution of vaccines, an area where India’s capabilities could be utilized to great effect.

Newer therapeutic agents for TB

Despite a nearly five-decade-long period with no new anti-TB drugs, a few new drugs have become available for widespread use. However, their use is limited by production capacities and costs.

• Switching to an all-oral, injection-free regimen for TB, which is shorter than the current six-month standard, could improve compliance and reduce patient fatigue.
• The development of newer drugs must be accelerated to prepare for the inevitable drug resistance that will emerge in TB bacteria, as they have a proven ability to survive for millennia.
• Current estimates of drug-resistant TB are worrisome, and not having a ready supply of newer drugs would be a mistake.

Effective Diagnostics

Exciting advances have been made in the use of AI-assisted handheld radiology, which can diagnose TB with 95% accuracy in just 90 seconds. This technology is mature and should be universally implemented immediately.

• Another breakthrough is the use of sentinel, passive surveillance and cough sound interpretation for TB screening and monitoring, allowing for unobtrusive home-level monitoring and nudges for treatment-seeking behavior.
• This technology is ready for larger-scale deployment and has the potential to revolutionize the monitoring of public spaces along with other air quality indicators.
• Confirmatory diagnosis using nucleic acid amplification is also ripe for disruption, and India’s InDx diagnostics coalition in Bengaluru for COVID-19 and other biotech startups should be incentivized to break down the complexity and cost barriers of molecular testing with affordable, high-quality innovations.
• Utilizing present funds available for TB diagnostics to purchase these new innovations could double their impact.

Conclusion

With India holding the G20 presidency this year and hosting the Varanasi StopTB board meeting this week, along with the United Nations High-Level Meeting on TB scheduled for September, India has a significant opportunity to showcase its efforts in the fight against TB and accelerate progress towards ending the disease.

The Road to Ending Tuberculosis FAQs

Q. What is tuberculosis (TB)?

A: Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It primarily affects the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body.

Q. How is TB spread?

A: TB is spread through the air when a person with active TB disease coughs or sneezes and another person inhales the bacteria.

Q. What are the symptoms of TB?

A: Symptoms of TB may include coughing for more than two weeks, coughing up blood, chest pain, fatigue, fever, night sweats, and loss of appetite.

Q. How is TB diagnosed?

A: TB can be diagnosed through a combination of medical history, physical examination, and tests such as a chest X-ray, sputum smear microscopy, and nucleic acid amplification tests.

Q. How is TB treated?

A: TB is treated with a combination of antibiotics taken for six to nine months. It is important to take all the antibiotics as prescribed, even if symptoms improve.

National TB Control Programme

National TB Control Programme

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