The WHO released the Global TB Report 2022 on October 27, 2022. The Report notes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis, treatment, and burden of disease for TB all over the world. According to the reports, 21 Lakh TB cases were reported in India in 2021, 18% higher than in 2022.

Born and raised in a moderately well-to-do family, I had this preliminary idea that Tuberculosis is almost extinct nowadays. Even newspapers or journals feature most articles related to cardiovascular diseases, cancer or diabetes. My curiosity developed about Tuberculosis when I went to photograph a few medical camps in the Howrah district for assignments. I suddenly faced a series of TB patients, which shocked me. Some came with their children and elderly, and Many have lost their livelihoods. I also sensed women from the backward part of our society are the silent victim of the disease. They can't identify their problems or often ignore the initial symptoms, and Tuberculosis becomes severe; they need to go to designated TB hospitals or TB homes. When I further investigated, I found the situation to be very dark. During my interviews, several female patients expressed constant fear that their husbands and family would not accept them. Doctors working in the field pointed out that many patients develop clinical depression as a side effect because of prolonged use of drugs related to TB. Proper treatment for TB is a long-term and complex game. Not only that, but after discharge, the recovered patient has to take medicines regularly and needs a healthy diet. Sadly, since people are from lower-income groups, they often stop medications mid-way, which puts them in a riskier position to develop MDR TB (Multi-Drug Resistance Tuberculosis), a type of Tuberculosis which doesn't have any cure. There is; further, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the social stigma of coughing and appearing unwell, which potentially drove TB patients to conceal their illness from others until the severity of the disease and infectiousness worsened.
Tuberculosis hits the weakest individuals of a population and most adults of age in that a woman has to care for young children, and a man has to earn money for his family. Since the fatality rate is moderately low and has become a poor man's disease, we don't talk about it; it's sad but unfortunate.