Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in India: Prevalence, Incidence and Burden

Abstract

Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (XDR-TB) is a recent challenge for tuberculosis control program. The absence of the functional drugs and high rate of the failure in treatment and mortality rate also high jeopardize for epidemiology. Its prevalence is unknown in India as there was no nationwide counselling. Globally, there were an estimated 55,100 new extensively drug resistant tuberculosis cases in the year of 2015 in 117 countries. However, only 30 cases extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis was reported. Drug susceptibility test (DST) is the cornerstone to diagnose extensively drug resistant tuberculosis, but the lack of laboratory facilities in the resource-limited endemic countries limits its uses. A few new drugs including bedaquiline and delamanid have the potential to improve the efficiency of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis treatment, but those drugs are used in 39 countries only. The costs of extensively drug resistant tuberculosis treatment (XDR-TB) are several folds higher than then multi drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).