New Treatment Regimen For Multidrug-Resistant TB

GS Paper III Science and Technology

The Union Health Ministry approved the introduction of a new treatment regimen (BPaLM regimen) for multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis in India.

About Multi-Drug-Resistant TB (MDR-TB) MDR-TB

Multi-Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) MDR-TB: It occurs when Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that cause TB, become resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampicin, the two most potent TB drugs.
Causes:
- Inappropriate or incorrect use of antimicrobial drugs, or
- premature treatment interruption can cause drug resistance, which can then be transmitted, especially in crowded settings such as prisons and hospitals or Using antibiotics in livestock farming etc.

New BPaLM Regimen: This 6-month all-oral treatment regimen comprises bedaquiline, pretomanid, linezolid, and moxifloxacin.
It has been introduced under the National TB Elimination Programme for eliminating the disease under the Sustainable Development Goals.
Benefits:
- Higher efficacy: Recent data show this regimen’s higher efficacy and better compliance, with only three to four tablets daily and a six-month treatment duration.
- Minimal Side effects: It has minimal side effects and boasts a success rate of 89%, compared to the 68% success rate reported in India’s 2023 TB Report.

Objective: To eliminate TB in India by 2025.
Earlier , it was known as Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP).

- Economic impact: An additional advantage is its economic impact that Potential savings of 40%-90% on current treatment costs, with a projected global annual saving of 6,180 crore.

Notified TB patients: 25.52 lakh TB patients in 2023 (increase from 24.22 lakh cases in 2022).
Reporting of cases: ~67% reporting being done by the public sector and ~33%) from private sector.
Treatment Success rate among notified Drug-Resistant TB (DR-TB): 65%
Increase in Estimated incidence: The estimated incidence of TB in 2023 increased slightly to 27.8 lakh from the previous year’s estimate of 27.4 lakh.
Mortality Rate: The mortality due to the infection remained the same at 3.2 lakh as per the data.
India specific data: India reached its 2023 target of initiating treatment in 95% of patients diagnosed with the infection.
- It says 58% of those diagnosed were offered a test to check whether their infection was resistant to the first line drugs, an increase from 25% in 2015.

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