Shortage of essential TB medicines hits Maharashtra, other states; patients in need struggle

For the past few months, several districts in Maharashtra and other states have faced a shortage of essential medicines for patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis undergoing treatment at directly observed treatment and short-course centres (DOTS). Notably, the Centre operates a TB elimination programme with the goal of eradicating infectious disease by 2025. The Centre supplies medicines to the states, which are then distributed to municipal corporations and other local bodies.

MiD-Day attempted to contact the Central TB Division under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; however, officials were unavailable for comment. Meanwhile, state TB officer Dr Sunita Golhait stated, "There has been a shortage of medicines for the last two to three months, but we have now given permission to procure them at the district level. We have also released the necessary funds."

Dr Golhait further added that the majority of affected patients are from Mumbai. "Shortages have also been observed in Aurangabad, Nagpur, and Pune. Districts where, city-level officials have procured medicines on time, do not face shortages," she explained.

Meanwhile, in Uttar Pradesh, state TB official Dr Shailendra Bhatnagar informed mid-day that the state is grappling with a shortage as well. "Currently, only a 15-day stock is available," he disclosed. A Delhi-based TB centre official said, "There has been a delay in supply from the Centre for the past few months, likely due to some issues in the tender. The state governments have been asked to procure."

In the previous year, India reported a total of 24,29,130 TB cases. While Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of cases (5,24,141), Maharashtra ranked second on the list with 2,34,898 TB cases. Mumbai, in particular, has a significant number of drug-resistant TB patients. mid-day had previously reported on the shortage of Linezolid, Clofazimine, and Cycloserine in the city. These medicines are crucial for patients afflicted with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) and multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). The BMC has initiated efforts to replenish the medicines at DOTS centres across Mumbai.

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Missing doses of these antibiotics can exacerbate drug resistance among XDR and MDR TB patients. Ganesh Acharya, a TB survivor and activist based in the city, commented, "Some centres have been restocked, primarily in the southern part of Mumbai. However, this has not yet occurred in areas like Sion and the northern parts of Mumbai." Acharya also noted that similar shortages of TB medicines occurred in 2013, 2019 and 2021.

2,34,898
No of TB cases in Maharashtra last year