The Hindu : Karnataka / Mangalore News : TB emerging as second biggest killer

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 26, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Mangalore

TB emerging as second biggest killer

By Our Staff Correspondent

MANGALORE, AUG. 25. Even as society is yet to get over its fear for and stigma attached to tuberculosis (TB), about 100 million are likely to perish because of the disease in the next 50 years, Ravindra Reddy, Tuberculosis Advisor to World Health Organisation, has said.

He was delivering a lecture on TB at a training programme organised for members of Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat and Mangalore City Corporation here on Tuesday.

Dr. Reddy said TB could turn out to be the second biggest killer after AIDS.

Already 40 per cent of the population in the country is susceptible to the disease.

About 30 lakh people died of TB every year. About 1,000 people died of the disease daily in India alone.

An estimated 18 lakh new TB patients were added every year, he said.

He warned that people with low immunity levels were those most susceptible to the disease.

On an average, three lakh children dropped out of schools in India annually as their parents were suffering from TB.

Dr. Reddy said TB was common among those suffering from AIDS. He pointed most deaths in AIDS victims occurred because of tuberculosis-related complications and not because of the virus per se.

Somanath, President of Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, who inaugurated the programme, regretted that there several misconceptions about the disease among the people.

He hoped the elected representatives would take the lead in ensuring the success of revised national tuberculosis control programme by creating awareness on the disease amongst masses.

He said a special committee had been constituted in the zilla panchayat under the chairmanship of the Chief Executive Officer to check the incidence of TB in the economically and socially backward Koraga community.

He said nine out of every ten persons among Koraga ommunity suffered from TB.

Ramachandra Shastri, former District TB officer, Gangadhar Rai and Keshav Gowda, Mangalore and Ullal zone officers of the Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Programme, and Hilda Rayappan, Director, Prajna Counselling Centre, were honoured on the occasion.

They were presented with a shawl and bowl of fruits.

Sadananda, District TB officer, welcomed the gathering. Mohan Raj, District Health and Family Welfare Officer; K.B. Anjanappa, Deputy Secretary; Bharath Mundodi, Chairman, Standing Committee on Health and Education, and K. Diwakar, former Mayor, were present. Shalet Pinto, Vice-President of the zilla panchyat, presided over the programme.

Lukewarm response

The programme, said to be the first ever for zilla panchayat members and corporators in the State, elicited poor response from the members.

Only 15 of 95 members of the panchayats and corporations turned up.

This poor turnout prompted Mr. Somnath to lament the lack of seriousness on part of elected representatives to training programmes arranged for them.

Even those who were present appeared to be distracted and were not listening to Dr. Reddy.

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