The Hindu : Multi-pronged strategy to treat HIV, TB, diabetes

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 22, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Multi-pronged strategy to treat HIV, TB, diabetes

By Our Staff Reporter

MADURAI, FEB.21 . Despite the presence of a direct link between Human Immuno Deficiency Virus (HIV) and tuberculosis, even the diabetics are prone to tuberculosis owing to the weak immune system.

While 30 per cent of the HIV-positive patients develop TB, the disease attack nearly five per cent of the acute diabetics, according C. Chandrasekhar, Superintendent, Austinpatti Government Tuberculosis Hospital.

As the number of patients is rising, the hospital has sought more funds from the State Government for setting up an upgraded laboratory that will have culture facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis.

Both diabetes and tuberculosis are getting closely linked, and those suffering from acute diabetes have to be careful, though it is widely prevalent among the people of the lower economic strata, he told The Hindu .

The hospital, situated 18 km from here, was set up in 1960 as an attached unit of the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH).

He pointed out that the incidence of tuberculosis rose even as the number of HIV patients shot up. But severe diabetes was also leading to the disease. Hence, the hospital worked out a multi-pronged strategy to treat HIV, TB and diabetes.

However, the hospital does not have adequate facilities. It needs an upgraded laboratory with culture facilities. The 207-bedded hospital has an outpatient wing at the GRH, while the inpatients are treated here.

Dr. Chandrasekhar said the hospital required the `second-line drugs' for the TB patients, "as we are giving them only initial drugs. If the first-line drug fails, we find it difficult (to treat them further)".

The hospital should also have the bronchoscopy facility. The thoracic medicine hospital had nine wards and tackled ` HIV patients with TB'. The National Tuberculosis Programme of the Central Government was being implemented at the hospital, and nearly 30 per cent of the HIV-positive patients developed tuberculosis.

An expert team from the United States-based Centres for Disease Control and Prevention-Global AIDS Program visited it recently.

Dr. Chandrasekhar said the team wanted to explore the possibility of a tie-up between the CDC and the hospital. The team was led by the CDC country director, Dora Warren, and comprised two tuberculosis experts.

The CDC has been working with the State Government at the TB Sanatorium at Tambaram under a memorandum of understanding signed in 2002.

The team also visited the GRH in the city, seeing the thoracic medicine facilities and the Indian Council for Medical Research and coronary medicine units. As the team showed an interest in a tie-up at a meeting with the Collector, B. Chandra Mohan, the Austinpatti hospital hopes for an improvement in its facilities.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu

News Update

Stories in this Section

Integrated disease surveillance launched

Passenger comfort in reverse gear

Multi-pronged strategy to treat HIV, TB, diabetes

Power shutdown

3 lakh children to be administered polio vaccine

Seminar

Around the City

In Madurai Today