The upturn is likely to be due to increased spread of TB from person to person rather than by strains acquiring resistance to anti-TB drugs, which has been so far considered the main hurdle in eradicating TB.
“While better access to treatment programmes will reduce rates of drug-resistant tuberculosis in countries with a high burden, they will not eradicate the problem alone, and current efforts may not be enough to reverse the epidemic,” the report said.
The study estimates that 12.4% of tuberculosis cases in India will be multi-drug resistant by 2040, as compared to 7.9% in 2000. In addition, almost one in ten cases of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) or 8.9% are expected to be extensively drug-resistant by 2040, as against 0.9% in 2000. TB is a bacterial disease that can be treated with a combination of antibiotic drugs.
However, because of misuse of antibiotics, bacteria can develop drug resistance and destroys the efficacy of the medicine. India is under international pressure to tackle the TB problem, as it accounts for 4,80,000 deaths every year and over 1400 deaths daily.