006-Apr 14, 2025
🩺 CHILDREN IN THE SHADOW OF A SCOURGE: The Rise of Paediatric Tuberculosis in India
Theme & Tags:
🧬 Public Health, Child Welfare, Infectious Disease, SDGs
📘 Category: Health & Governance | GS Paper 2
🌬️ Opening Whisper
Some battles are fought in silence, where lungs wheeze lullabies of survival.
📊 Key Highlights
- Paediatric TB = Tuberculosis in children aged 0–14 years
- 38% rise in cases from 2020 (1.02 lakh) to 2024 (1.41 lakh)
- Contributing factors: Malnutrition, COVID-19’s lingering effects, household exposure
- TB remains one of India’s most pressing public health challenges, especially among the vulnerable
🧠 Causes Behind the Surge
| Factor | Impact |
|---|---|
| Malnutrition | Weakens immunity, making children more susceptible |
| COVID-19 Legacy | Steroid use and weakened lungs may have reactivated latent TB |
| Household Transmission | TB spread from infected adult family members |
| Extrapulmonary Forms | Lymph nodes, bones, and organs affected — harder to diagnose |
🔬 Diagnostic Challenges
- Symptoms are non-specific in children: fever, weight loss, persistent cough
- Extrapulmonary TB is more common in children than adults
- Children struggle to produce sputum samples, leading to under-diagnosis
- Diagnosis often delayed due to lack of paediatric-specific diagnostic access
🧪 Drug Resistance Worsening the Crisis
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| MDR-TB | Resistant to isoniazid and rifampicin (first-line drugs) |
| XDR-TB | Further resistant to second-line drugs |
| Treatment Burden | Longer, more toxic regimens; paediatric formulations needed |
🧭
When Breath Becomes a Struggle – India’s Paediatric TB Alarms
“In the lungs of the smallest, echoes a war that no one hears.”
🛡️ Government Response
| Initiative | Action Taken |
|---|---|
| BCG Vaccination | Administered at birth |
| Rapid Molecular Diagnostics | Expanded for faster TB detection |
| Child-Friendly Medicines | Improved palatability and delivery of anti-TB drugs |
| Goal | Eliminate TB in India by 2025 (ahead of SDG 2030 target) |
⚠️ Implementation Gaps
- Paediatric TB guidelines exist but are poorly enforced
- Private sector lacks access to diagnostics
- Training gaps among healthcare professionals on childhood TB
- Need for better surveillance, reporting, and follow-up mechanisms
📚 GS Mains Mapping
- GS Paper 2
- Issues relating to Health, especially Child Health
- Government interventions in health sector
- SDG Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being
💭 A Thought Spark — by IAS Monk
A child’s silence can be louder than a cough — it is in those hushed moments we must learn to listen.
🫁 Closing Whisper
Where a breath falters before a voice is found, let not neglect be louder than care.
