Tuberculosis Cases Spike in Western India

Over the past few months, the positive reduction in tuberculosis (TB), the world's leading infectious disease killer, has reversed course in India. Local media has reported that Maharashtra health workers have reported over 24,000 cases as part of the ongoing 100-day campaign under the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP).

On February 10, 2025, Dr Sandeep Sangle, the Joint Director of Health in Maharashtra, told The Indian Express, "The main aim is to enhance TB detection, improve the efficiency of TB testing and treatment, reduce the mortality rate, and prevent new cases through targeted interventions in the districts."

Previously, the NTEP reported the incidence of TB had been reduced from 237 per 1,00,000 population in 2015 to 195 in 2023, and the mortality rate has decreased from 28 to 22 in the same period.

The World Health Organization (WHO) issued an updated Global TB Report in 2024, revealing that approximately 8.2 million people were newly diagnosed with TB in 2023, the highest number ever recorded by the WHO.

In other United States, TB cases have steadily increased over the past three years. The U.S. CDC reported 8,040 TB cases in 2024, led by California (1,623), New York (901), and Texas (728).

TB is a vaccine-preventable disease, with various versions of the 100-year-old BCG vaccine offered globally. 

While the CDC does not list TB in its Travel Health Advisories for India, it includes chikungunya, dengue, and Zika diseases. Of these diseases, the single-dose IXCHIQ® chikungunya vaccine is offered in travel clinics and pharmacies in the U.S., U.K., and Europe in 2025.