Deadlier Than HIV Or Malaria: TB Stays India's Top Infectious Killer, Says Study

A report titled 'Cause of Death in India' (2021-2023) by the Sample Registration System revealed that out of three major ailments — Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV/AIDS; not only is TB the leading cause of death, it also disproportionately impacts the prime of India's working population, that is people between the ages of 30 to 69.

"The specific analysis of causes of death from tuberculosis, Malaria, HIV/AIDS, etc. shows that tuberculosis is the leading cause among these three conditions, causing about 2.5% of all deaths, and 3.2% at ages 30-69. Malaria and HIV/AIDS follows it, causing about 0.1% proportion each of all deaths," the report stated.

This is in contrast to other illnesses such as cancer, and cardiovascular diseases which are more frequent in older populations.

An earlier study, funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research, established a correlation between poverty and Tuberculosis and also stated that, "In India TB is found to be present among all strata of society, although the prevalence is highest among the poor. Increased morbidity due to poverty was shown by a number of workers in TB."

It also examined how it depletes the financial resources in the country and valued the total costs India has to face due to TB at a "more than Rs 13,000 crore" annually.

Cases of TB are more commonly found in the developing world, and that too among the lower strata of the country, but it is curable. ICMR's research advised to make Directly Observed Treatment Short course, also known as DOTS, more accessible to people.

"Introducing DOTS may initially increase cost to the health services (depending upon the programme it is replacing) because of greater number of cases detected. DOTS can halve the current potential national economic loss from TB," the report highlighted.

It also added that implementation of DOTS can also substantially improve the quality of life, "When DOTS is provided free of cost, household assets are not sold, loans and reductions in food are greatly reduced, and quality of life improves".