Tuberculosis in West Bengal

Inspite of the various curative and preventive measures the control of tuberculosis has not been effective. Today it persists as an endemic disease in many parts of India. The present study aims to map the spatial distribution of tuberculosis in West Bengal and to evaluate the spatial change over time between 1960 to 1980. The mortality data for the 16 districts of West Bengal have been used to map spatial distribution of tuberculosis for 1980 and the expected deaths have been calculated based on the mid-year population. The rural and urban sectors have been treated separately. Similarly a time space change in tuberculosis mortality has been calculated for the districts based on the quinquinneal population change between 1960, 1965, 1970, and 1980. In all cases the probability has been tested by Poissons Probability model at the significance levels of p less than 0.01 and p less than 0.05. The principal zones of tuberculosis endemicity are the Nn.Hill region and the adjoining plains, the central plains of Bankura district, and Calcutta. A wide rural urban difference is perceptible in spatial context as well as in time scale. Though tuberculosis is principally a disease of the male population, it is more prevalent among females of the lower age group. The declining trend of tuberculosis though observable from 1965 is not uniform for all districts. An increasing trend in Purulia is apparent in the present decade while in Calcutta the trend of decline is very gradual.