AIZAWL: Mizoram witnessed a concerning toll from tuberculosis (TB) last year, with a total of 108 fatalities attributed to the disease.
Throughout the year, blood samples from 17,432 individuals underwent testing, uncovering 2272 cases of TB among them.
Among these patients, 164 were diagnosed with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).
Despite efforts, 108 individuals succumbed to the illness.
However, 86% of patients responded positively to treatment.
In the first quarter of this year, 595 new cases of TB have been identified from 3761 samples tested.
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Among these cases, 38 were classified as MDR-TB, and alarmingly, 57 individuals were found to be suffering from both TB and HIV-AIDS.
Additionally, it was noted that 6% of patients were diabetic, while 33% were tobacco users and 16% were regular alcohol consumers.
District-wise, Aizawl district of Mizoram reported the highest incidence of TB cases, with 433 cases, followed by Kolasib district with 46 cases and Lunglei district with 34 cases.
Conversely, Mamit district in West Mizoram recorded the lowest number of TB cases, totalling only five.