India accounts for 25% of global TB cases as 1.06 crore fall ill worldwide, WHO report says

India accounted for nearly 25 per cent of the world's tuberculosis (TB) cases in 2025, even as the global number of people developing the disease declined marginally to 10.6 million, according to the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Tuberculosis Report 2026, released on Thursday.

The report estimated that approximately 1.06 crore people developed TB worldwide during 2025, around 75,000 fewer than in the preceding year. Despite the improvement, tuberculosis remained the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent globally.

India continued to account for the largest share of the global TB burden, although the country recorded a 38 per cent reduction in tuberculosis deaths between 2015 and 2025, compared with a 35 per cent decline worldwide.

The findings highlighted both the progress achieved through improved diagnosis and treatment and the considerable challenges that remain in meeting international TB elimination targets.

𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐁 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧

According to the WHO, the global TB incidence rate declined by 1.6 per cent between 2024 and 2025, falling from 131 to 129 cases per lakh population.

However, the reduction remained substantially below the targets established under the WHO End TB Strategy.

The strategy had called for a 50 per cent reduction in TB incidence by 2025 and an 80 per cent reduction by 2030, compared with 2015 levels.

The report found that global TB incidence had declined by only 14 per cent over the decade ending in 2025, indicating that progress remained considerably slower than required.

Tuberculosis ranked 13th among all causes of death worldwide, underscoring its continuing public health significance.

The 30 countries classified as having a high TB burden accounted for approximately 88 per cent of estimated global cases in 2025.

𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝

Eight countries together accounted for approximately two-thirds of global TB cases, with India contributing the largest share at around 25 per cent.

Indonesia accounted for 10 per cent, followed by the Philippines at 6.8 per cent, China at 6.5 per cent and Pakistan at 6.4 per cent.

Nigeria contributed 4.9 per cent, the Democratic Republic of the Congo 3.9 per cent and Bangladesh 3.7 per cent.

The five countries with the highest burden collectively accounted for more than half of all estimated cases worldwide.

Although India remained the largest contributor to global infections, the WHO acknowledged improvements in the country's tuberculosis prevention and treatment efforts.

𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞

The report highlighted the progress achieved under India's National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP), particularly in expanding access to diagnosis, treatment and community-based screening.

India's 38 per cent reduction in TB deaths since 2015 exceeded the corresponding global decline of 35 per cent.

The WHO also recognised the country's efforts to improve surveillance of tuberculosis infections and disease prevalence at the district level.

India has developed a district-level sentinel surveillance system to monitor changes in the prevalence of TB disease and infection, strengthening the evidence available for public health interventions.

Earlier WHO assessments had also documented improvements in treatment coverage and reductions in disease incidence, reflecting the expansion of tuberculosis control measures.

𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬

India has increasingly shifted towards actively identifying tuberculosis cases within communities rather than relying exclusively on patients seeking medical attention after developing symptoms.

The approach gained importance following findings from the Indian Council of Medical Research's National TB Prevalence Survey, which indicated that nearly half of people with TB did not exhibit symptoms.

Under the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, authorities have expanded community screening through artificial intelligence-compatible portable X-ray machines and molecular diagnostic technologies.

Between December 2024 and March 2026, more than 28 crore vulnerable individuals were screened, resulting in the notification of over 39 lakh TB patients.

Of these, nearly 13 lakh patients were identified despite not reporting symptoms, demonstrating the importance of active case detection.

India has also expanded molecular testing facilities to nearly 11,000 locations, using platforms including the indigenously developed Truenat system and GeneXpert.

𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬

The WHO has recommended additional diagnostic approaches to make tuberculosis testing more accessible, particularly in primary healthcare and community settings.

These include near point-of-care molecular tests, tongue-swab-based sample collection and sputum pooling.

Near point-of-care testing could help bring molecular diagnosis closer to patients, while tongue swabs offer an alternative for people who have difficulty producing sputum samples.

Sputum pooling allows multiple samples to be tested together, potentially reducing costs and improving laboratory efficiency.

At the Indian Council of Medical Research's India Innovation Summit, 86 tuberculosis diagnostic innovations were showcased.

An expert panel identified 10 technologies that were already approved and available for use under the National TB Elimination Programme, while another 15 were recommended for accelerated consideration.

𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭

Despite improvements in screening, diagnosis and treatment, the WHO's findings indicated that the global response to tuberculosis continued to fall short of agreed elimination targets.

For India, the challenge remains particularly significant because of its large share of global infections.

Expanding access to rapid diagnostic testing, identifying patients before symptoms develop and ensuring uninterrupted treatment will be important to reducing transmission and deaths.

The report's findings suggest that while India has made measurable progress in tackling tuberculosis, sustained efforts will be required to translate improvements in detection and treatment into a substantial reduction in the country's disease burden.