Chennai: Tamil Nadu’s intensified tuberculosis surveillance identified 48,469 patients in the first six months of 2026, after 93,203 cases were diagnosed in 2025, health minister K G Arunraj said on Wednesday, urging greater community participation to eliminate the disease. A total of 2,390 village panchayats were certified TB-free in 2025, underscoring progress in the state’s elimination drive, he said.Reviewing the state’s TB elimination programme at a meeting of district deputy directors of tuberculosis in Chennai, the minister said a coordinated effort involving govt departments, private hospitals, elected representatives, NGOs and the public was essential to achieve a TB-free Tamil Nadu. He reviewed district-wise progress and the state’s performance under the National TB Elimination Programme.“All 48,469 patients diagnosed between January and June this year are on treatment,” the minister said, adding active case finding must be intensified in villages and urban wards with high transmission risk by using chest X-rays and molecular tests for early diagnosis.Preventive treatment must be given to people who have been in close contact with TB patients, while strengthening care for critically ill patients. “The state’s TB elimination efforts would succeed only through coordinated action across all sections of society. Tamil Nadu continues to implement the National TB Elimination Programme aggressively, with a focus on community participation and early detection,” he added.
