Ahmedabad: Incessant cough, chest pain, shortness of breath and blood in sputum (spit) — the tuberculosis bacterium (TB) infection in the chest strikes early and strikes hard, experts say. According to a study carried out by GMERS researchers, about half of the TB patients died in a month after detection.About 52% of the patients died at home. Analysis by the AMC of the TB cases in 2025 had a slightly higher rate, 59%, of those who died within 30 days of detection. As Gujarat — and India at large — is currently observing 100 days of TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan or TB eradication initiative, the figures indicate that along with the primary infection for TB, a majority of the patients also suffer from comorbidities. These include hypertension and diabetes, a majority of them reporting HIV infection and addictions such as tobacco and alcohol. Low body mass index (BMI) was also found to be a major factor. A recently published study by GMERS Valsad based on Nikshay surveillance data encompassing 4,795 patients indicated that the mortality rate was 3.9%. Of the total deaths, about 22% had HIV infection and 23.5% had hypertension. World TB Day is observed annually on March 24 to raise awareness. The state govt data indicates that last year (2025), 1.3 lakh new cases were notified. It was the sixth-highest number among Indian states, according to Lok Sabha data. The state govt said that out of the total, 1.2 lakh have made satisfactory recovery. “The recently published Global TB Report 2025 indicated that the annual TB incidence rate has decreased by 21% from 237 cases per lakh population in 2015 to 187 cases per lakh population in 2024 in India,” said a pulmonologist from the city. The pulmonologist said that overall, TB deaths have also reduced by 28%. Amid this good news, the reality remains that TB is often detected at a late stage, the pulmonologist said, which reduces the chances of a successful recovery.Unfortunately, a majority of the patients are in the working age group and their deaths or loss of employment due to disease causes economic burden,” the pulmonologist said. “The need of the hour is to launch a sustained drive to identify the condition especially among the workers in unorganized sectors.”
