WHO hails Indian study on nutrition's role in TB as global guideline
Led by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the study — conducted in Jharkhand — provided the first evidence that offering additional nutrition helps prevent TB cases and reduces mortality in India.
'The findings from India's RATIONS study on the impact of nutrition on TB outcomes and incidence have contributed to global guidance,' the WHO said during a three-day virtual workshop.
The study, 'Nutritional support for adult patients with microbiologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis: outcomes in a programmatic cohort nested within the RATIONS trial in Jharkhand, India' is published in The Lancet Global Health in 2023.
The researchers of the study had provided nutritional support to a cohort with a high prevalence of severe undernutrition in the State. The results were encouraging.
'Weight gain, particularly in the first 2 months, was associated with a substantially decreased hazard of tuberculosis mortality. Nutritional support needs to be an integral component of patient-centred care to improve treatment outcomes in such settings,' said the study.
Asserting the member nations to share such innovative practices, the WHO has urged the South-East Asia Region — which accounts for the highest share of TB cases and deaths globally — to also urgently scale up research and innovation to meet End TB goals.
'In our region alone, nearly 5 million people developed TB and close to 600,000 died from the disease in 2023,' said Dr. Catharina Boehme, Officer-in-Charge, WHO South-East Asia Region in a statement here.
She further added, 'Achieving the ambitious targets of the WHO End TB Strategy requires collaboration to accelerate research and innovation. This includes adopting and using new tools, technologies, and drugs. Ensuring timely and equitable access to these innovations is critical to achieving impact at scale, leaving no one behind.'
The WHO noted that the South-East Asia Region has made notable progress, including a rise in TB case notifications in 2023 — a sign of recovery following COVID-19-related setbacks, however, progress remains insufficient to meet End TB Strategy targets.
Following the pandemic, noted the WHO, as per the statement, TB has re-emerged as the world's leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. The disease disproportionately affects the poorest and most vulnerable, deepening existing inequalities.
To counter this, 'countries in the region are increasingly leveraging new approaches such as artificial intelligence for case detection, computer-aided diagnostics, digital adherence tools, and direct benefit transfers for patients to streamline social support,' the WHO said.
'Our progress is uneven. Research and innovation capacity varies across the region, and the results of these efforts are often siloed and inaccessible for collaborative use. The rise in drug-resistant TB remains very concerning,' said Boehme. UNI AJ SSP
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