Tuberculosis Control In India: Strategies, Progress And Challenges

Tuberculosis is a worldwide, chronic communicable bacterial disease and important cause of death in many parts of world, especially in India. Of the 8.6 million cases,2.2(25%)million cases occurred in India making India the world’s highest tuberculosis burden country.1 The national tuberculosis control program was started in 1962 with the aim to detect cases at the earliest but later it was included in prime minister’s 20 points program. The RNTCP program was launched in pilot basis in 1993. The RNTCP has expanded over the years and since March 2006, it covers the whole country. RNTCP has successfully involved 261 medical colleges, over 2900 NGOs, 17000 private practitioners and over 150 corporate sector health units. DOTS plus servicesfor the management of MDR TB have been rolled out in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra in 2007.