UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — India Makes Major Strides Towards TB Elimination: 38% Decline in TB Mortality, 94% Treatment Success Rate

Q1. With reference to the WHO End TB Strategy and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 3.3, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Strategy's milestones and targets for both TB incidence and TB deaths are expressed as reductions relative to 2015 levels.
  2. 'Elimination' of TB and the SDG 3.3 aim of 'ending the epidemic' by 2030 refer to the same epidemiological threshold.
  3. For its 2030 milestone, the Strategy sets a steeper percentage reduction for TB incidence than for TB deaths.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1 only

Q2. Consider the following facts: The WHO Global TB Report 2026 estimates that India's TB deaths fell by 38% between 2015 and 2025, while global TB deaths fell by 35% over the same period. The End TB Strategy's 2030 milestone is a 90% reduction in TB deaths compared with 2015. Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above?

  1. India's TB incidence must also have fallen by at least 38% over the same period.
  2. Despite outperforming the global average, India remains well short of the End TB 2030 milestone for TB deaths.
  3. Taken together, countries other than India must have recorded a decline in TB deaths smaller than 35%.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 2 only

Q3. With reference to diagnostic tools used in TB control, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) detects the genetic material of the TB bacterium rather than depending on seeing bacilli under a microscope.
  2. Rapid molecular tests can be used not only to confirm TB but also to detect resistance to rifampicin.
  3. Tests that identify TB infection, such as the tuberculin skin test and the interferon gamma release assay, are distinct from tests that diagnose TB disease.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q4. Consider the following assertion: 'Nutritional support should be treated as part of TB care rather than as a separate welfare measure.' Which of the following statements support/supports the above assertion?

  1. Undernutrition is among the conditions that raise the risk of a person infected with TB bacteria progressing to TB disease.
  2. Most people infected with TB bacteria go on to develop TB disease, whatever their nutritional status.
  3. TB is a catabolic disease that can cause or worsen malnutrition in the patient.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q5. WHO's estimate of TB deaths in India combined data from the Sample Registration System of the Registrar General of India, community-based verbal autopsy and Ni-kshay programme records. Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above?

  1. An estimate based on programme records alone could understate TB deaths, since people who died without being notified to the programme would be missed.
  2. The need for verbal autopsy suggests that many deaths in India occur without a medically certified cause.
  3. Because a sample-based registration system is used, the resulting figure is a complete count of every TB death in the country.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1 only

Q6. Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is defined by resistance of the bacterium to at least which pair of drugs?

  • A. Rifampicin and fluoroquinolones
  • B. Isoniazid and streptomycin
  • C. Isoniazid and rifampicin
  • D. Pyrazinamide and ethambutol

Q7. Suppose a country records a large fall in TB deaths between 2015 and 2030 but only a small fall in the number of new TB cases. With reference to this situation, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. It would meet the End TB incidence milestone, since that milestone is derived from mortality figures.
  2. The proportion of people with TB who die of the disease has fallen.
  3. Progress on the SDG indicator for TB, which tracks incidence per 1,00,000 population, would be limited.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 3 only