WHO’s Guidelines to tackle Tuberculosis

Prelims: Current events of national and international importance

Why in news?

Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has released new guidelines to tackle tuberculosis and undernutrition.

The updated tuberculosis (TB) guidelines that integrate nutritional support into standard treatment, a major shift toward a more patient-centered and holistic approach.
The shift in the global TB policy is inspired by the pathbreaking RATIONS trial by Indian researchers.

New recommendations

Nutritional assessment & counseling – These services should now be offered to all people with TB and their household contacts.
This recognizes that a significant proportion of people in households with TB may be undernourished.
Targeted nutritional support – All TB patients who are undernourished should receive nutritional interventions, regardless of their age, pregnancy status, drug-resistance or severity of undernutrition. The goal is to optimize clinical outcomes.
Food assistance for household contacts – In food-insecure regions, the WHO now advises providing food assistance to the households of TB patients to help prevent them from developing the disease.

Current status of TB

WHO Global TB Report 2024 – India accounted for an estimated 26% of the world's TB cases in 2023, totaling around 2.7 million cases.
Decline in incidence rate of TB cases – Notable 17.7% decline in the TB incidence rate from 2015 to 2023, a rate more than double the global average of 8.3%.
Goal – Eliminate tuberculosis (TB) by 2025, 5 years before the global target of 2030.
Mortality – TB deaths in India decreased by 21.4% between 2015 and 2023, a reduction from 28 to 22 deaths per 100,000 people.
Drug-resistant TB – India has the highest burden of multidrug-resistant (MDR) or rifampicin-resistant (RR) TB.

Quick Fact

RATIONS trial

RATIONS – Reducing Activation of Tuberculosis by Improvement of Nutritional Status
It was conducted in Jharkhand by Indian researchers, and published in The Lancet.
Supported by – ICMR.
Highlighted the vital role nutrition plays in reducing mortality among people living with active TB, as well as in reducing incidence among household contacts of pulmonary tuberculosis patients.
A 60% lower risk of TB mortality for patients who gained weight within the first two months of treatment.
A 48% reduction in new TB cases among the family members of TB patients who received nutritional support.
A 35% decrease in mortality among TB patients.

References