Karnataka fares much better than other southern states in containing multi-drug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) cases, a survey has revealed.

Among the new infections, Karnataka has zero multi-drug resistant TB case.

Among those who were previously treated, MDR cases were only 1.23%, one of the lowest in the country, revealed India’s first drug-resistant TB survey released by the Ministry of Health on Saturday.

On the national scale, the prevalence of MDR-TB is 2.84% in new TB patients and 11.62% in previously treated individuals, who went through the second round of treatment with the first line of drugs.

The MDR are those cases in which the patients don’t respond to two first-line drugs - Rifampicin and Isoniazid.

On the national scale, the prevalence of MDR-TB is 2.84% in new TB patients and 11.62% in previously treated individuals, who went through the second round of treatment with the first line of drugs. AP PTI File photo for representation only.

In the south, MDR among the previously treated cases is on the higher side in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Telangana.

But both forms of drug resistance - MDR and XDR (extreme drug-resistant cases - that don’t respond to three first-line medicines and one-second line medicine are being fuelled by Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh with a very large number of drug-resistant and regular TB patients.

Treating drug-resistant cases are expensive, difficult and time-consuming. For instance, XDR-TB treatment for an individual would cost nearly Rs 5 lakh and take more than two years.

"The figure of 2.83% is not an alarming one, though the number should be as close to zero as possible. But the 11.6% prevalence of MDR cases among the previously treated persons is a worrying sign. It also highlights the importance of doing drug sensitivity tests for more TB patients," physician Bobby John, who has been tracking India’s TB-control efforts for more than a decade, told DH.

With nearly 28 lakh TB patients, India has more new TB patients annually than any other country globally, contributing to 27% of the world’s TB burden.

But only about 19 lakh cases are on the government radar, which means little is known about the treatment being received by the missing over 9 lakh TB patients, who are suspected to be fuelling the drug resistance.

"More than a quarter of TB patients in India have drug resistance to one or the other anti-TB drug. Fluoroquinolone resistance among MDR-TB patients is high. The survey results clearly indicate that drug resistance is present in all settings," the survey stated.