STLS

The State TB Cell or STC is the state-level implementing structure of the National TB Elimination Program (NTEP). It is the leading institution for management of NTEP activities at the state level. 

The STC is a State Government entity that acts as the bridge between the Central and State Governments for implementing the NTEP. It works under the guidance of the Central TB Division (CTD), and it oversees the program implementation at the districts.

• National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) conducts annual on-site evaluation/supervisory visits to laboratories for assessing the quality of microscopy, culture and drug susceptibility test (C&DST), and for improvement of the overall laboratory quality. 
• NRLs also assist Central TB Division (CTD), in developing laboratory guidelines, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and conduct training to state-level Intermediate reference laboratories (IRLs) and other technical issues.

National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) is a centrally sponsored programme being implemented under the aegis of National Health Mission.

National Level: Managed by Central TB Division (CTD), the technical arm of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW)

The National Health Mission (NHM) was launched by the Government of India in 2013, subsuming the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and National Urban Health Mission (NUHM). Figure 1 shows the history of the NHM.

The vision of NHM is “Attainment of Universal Access to Equitable, Affordable and Quality health care services, accountable and responsive to people's needs, with effective intersectoral convergent action to address the wider social determinants of health.”

The National Strategic Plan (NSP) for TB elimination 2017–25 is a bold strategic framework to drive the  acceleration of progress toward TB Elimination, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) and End TB targets for India. It expects to guide the activities of all stakeholders including the national and state governments, development partners, civil society organizations, international agencies, research institutions, private sector, and many others whose work is relevant to TB elimination in India.

The Standards for TB Care in India (STCI), which is a locally customized version of the International Standards of Tuberculosis Care,

TB is a notifiable disease in India, and TB notification has been made mandatory at the point of diagnosis since May 2012. This means that when a case of TB is diagnosed and/or put on treatment it is to be reported to the  NTEP.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious, chronic, granulomatous disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It usually involves the lungs but may affect any organ or tissue in the body.

The pathogenesis of TB in a previously unexposed immunocompetent individual is centred on the development of cell-mediated immunity. This confers resistance to the organism and results in the development of tissue hypersensitivity to tubercular antigens.

TB is one of the top burdensome infectious diseases in India. It is estimated that, around 1/4th (26%) of the world's TB cases are in India, translating to about 30 Lakhs new TB cases emerging each year (TB incidence). Against this estimated incidence the National TB Elimination program reported around 19 lakh new and relapse cases in the year 2021.

• Globally, an estimated 11 million people fell ill with TB (incidence) in 2021.
• Historically, it has been the top infectious disease killer. In 2021, there were an estimated 1.4 million TB deaths and an additional 187 000 deaths among HIV-positive people.
• Three countries accounted for 42% of global cases in 2021: India (26%), the Russian Federation (8.5%) and Pakistan (7.9%).