Maharashtra TB Alert: 6,111 Cases in 35 Days, 11,091 Villages Marked High Risk

Maharashtra has reported 6,111 new tuberculosis (TB) cases within just the first 35 days of the Centre’s ongoing 100 day TB Free India campaign , while an AI based assessment system has identified 11,091 villages across the state as high risk, the state government informed the legislative assembly.

In a written response, Public Health Minister Prakash Abitkar said that the identified villages include clusters from Nagpur (482), Yavatmal (539), Amravati (504), Nashik (488) and Raigad (488), which were marked under the national TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan using artificial intelligence driven analysis.

The minister clarified that it would not be correct to assume unusually high TB prevalence in Vidarbha’s cotton growing belt or in tribal dominated regions when compared to other parts of Maharashtra. He added that under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme , risk based screening, active case finding, and patient registration on the Nikshay portal are being carried out consistently across all districts.

“No specific geographical area has been found to have an abnormally high burden of tuberculosis,” the minister stated in the reply.

Providing district level data, the government said Latur district recorded 729 new TB patients between January and April 2026 and currently has 1,020 patients under treatment. In Ahilyanagar district , 4,493 new TB cases and 92 deaths were recorded in 2025, while another 1,846 new cases and 10 deaths were reported between January and May 2026.

The minister also rejected concerns about delays in diagnosis and treatment due to a shortage of AI enabled diagnostic tools or CB NAAT machines. He said Maharashtra currently has 117 AI based handheld X-ray units , 171 CB NAAT machines , and 746 True NAAT machines , bringing the total number of advanced diagnostic devices in the state to 917 .

Officials said these systems are being used to strengthen early detection and improve surveillance under ongoing TB elimination efforts.