Mon Mar 24 15:42:04 UTC 2025: ## India’s Genomic Sequencing Project Yields Insights into Drug-Resistant TB

**New Delhi, March 25, 2025** – India’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT) announced a significant milestone in its fight against tuberculosis (TB) on World TB Day. The DBT has completed genomic sequencing of 10,000 samples (one-third of its target) as part of the “Dare2eraD TB” program, revealing crucial information about drug-resistant strains of the disease.

The initiative, launched in 2022, aims to sequence 32,500 samples nationwide to better understand the unique genomic features of TB bacteria in India and accelerate the nation’s efforts to eliminate the disease. Preliminary results from the sequenced samples show that 7% exhibit resistance to at least one drug.

The project, a collaboration between nine labs from the DBT, CSIR, and ICMR, is expected to complete sequencing of all samples by October 2025. Scientists highlighted the potential for artificial intelligence to significantly reduce TB confirmation time from three weeks to just one week.

India, which carries the highest global burden of TB cases, has set an ambitious goal of eradicating the disease by 2025 – five years ahead of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2030 target. While progress has been made, with cases falling from 2,370 per million in 2015 to 1,990 per million in 2022, significant challenges remain. These include a large pool of asymptomatic individuals who can unknowingly spread the disease and the increasing prevalence of drug-resistant strains. The sequenced samples revealed that most TB cases were in the 18-45 age group, with many being diabetic and underweight.

Experts emphasize that achieving elimination, defined by the WHO as reducing cases to approximately one per million, requires continued concerted effort. The genomic sequencing data will play a critical role in developing more effective strategies for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of TB in India.

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