The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Focus is on preventing TB

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Monday, Mar 24, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Focus is on preventing TB

K.V. Subramanya

World Tuberculosis Day is being observed today

TB symptoms
Uncontrolled cough and expectoration for over
three weeks; weight and appetite loss
Fever during evenings; coughing blood some times

BANGALORE: “One person dies of tuberculosis (TB) every 90 seconds and India has three-fourths of the TB cases in the world,” says Shashidar Buggi, Director of the State-run SDM Tuberculosis Sanatorium and Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases Hospital, Bangalore.

As TB is the most common communicable disease, various agencies world-over are focussing on its prevention by creating awareness among the public and also health workers. Thus, World Tuberculosis Day 2008 is being observed on March 24 with the theme, “I am stopping TB.”

World TB Day commemorates the date in 1882 when Robert Koch announced his discovery of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis. The World Health Organisation estimates that one-third of the world’s population is infected with this dreaded bacterium.

Doctors associated with TB treatment in Bangalore say that patients who discontinue medication are the ones who pose a serious threat of cross infection at home and community.

According to K.R. Raveendra, former nodal officer of Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) at Victoria Hospital, patients have to be on drugs for a minimum of six months.

However, once they start feeling better after a fortnight or a month, they stop taking medicines.

Such patients are likely to develop multi-drug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis. Treating MDR tuberculosis is difficult and also the infection caused by it is severe, he said, while making out a strong case for educating patients on continuing the medication until doctors advise them to stop the medicine.

Unfortunately, there has been an increase in the number of such patients, “chronic defaulters,” who repeatedly discontinue medicines. Mortality and morbidity is high among MDR tuberculosis patients, Dr. Raveendra told The Hindu.

In the long run, even uncontrolled diabetes may indirectly lead to pulmonary tuberculosis, and treating such patients is a complex process.

On the other hand, HIV patients are at high risk of contracting TB as their immunity level would be low, said Dr. Raveendra, who is an assistant professor of medicine at the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute.

While most of the people suffer from pulmonary (respiratory) TB, infections could even lead to tuberculosis of brain, eye and skin. In fact, younger people are more affected by TB now-a-days, he said.

Anti-TB week

Various hospitals and agencies in Karnataka have taken up programmes to create awareness among the public regarding the detection, prevention and treatment of the killer disease. As a prelude to World TB Day, the Karnataka State Tuberculosis Association observed Anti-TB week from February 17 to February 23.

During the week-long event, health education and training programmes were organised by the district health officer and medical officers of the district TB centres, district surgeons and principals of all medical colleges in the State.

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