Kerala - Kochi   

TB still a cause for concern

KOCHI: Tuberculosis continues to be a major cause of concern in the public health domain with Rs.12,000 crore being the national expenditure on TB control programmes.

Hence, the awareness programme on TB on World TB Day on Monday with the slogan ‘Each one of us becoming a partner in controlling the spread of TB’ is sending a significant signal to society.

The district-level programme was inaugurated by V.K. Ebrahim Kunju, MLA. A rally held on the occasion was flagged off by Palluruthy Circle Inspector of Police V.K. Sanal Kumar.

District Medical Officer K.T. Ramani hoisted the flag to mark the beginning of the programmes. Two doctors - physician S.G. Rajan, who runs clinics in West Kochi and the city, and Prasan Prabhakar, physician at Lakshmi Hospital - were honoured for their service and cooperation to the government programmes. District TB Officer P. Sreedhara Kumar said 85 per cent of the TB cases were of the respiratory tract and it was important to get the sputum checked if a person’s cough did not subside in three weeks.

The government had set up 54 microscopy centres in the district, 29 in the government and 22 in the private sector. A TB-positive person, if left untreated, could spread the disease to at least 15 persons in a year.

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