Written question asked by Virendra Sharma (Labour) on Monday, 23 January 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 25 January 2012. It was answered by Andrew Mitchell (Conservative) on Tuesday, 31 January 2012 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

India: Tuberculosis

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of recent reports of an outbreak of totally drug resistant tuberculosis in India.

Answer: The UK attaches great importance to the control of all forms of drug resistant tuberculosis (TB), which pose a significant public health hazard. We fund the World Health Organisation (WHO) to provide technical support to the Government of India on TB control.WHO is working closely with the Indian Government to better understand the clinical situation of affected patients and give public health advice to protect patients, families, care-givers and the community. The local health authorities are mounting an effective public health response, including:"(a) mandatory notification of all TB cases from labs and providers,""(b) finding and treating any known multi-drug resistant (MDR) and extremely drug resistant (XDR) TB cases,""(c) immediate universal access to free MDR and XDR TB diagnosis and treatment in Mumbai,""(d) strengthening basic TB control in the city, with a major investment in systems, people, and infrastructure."

Secondary information