Panaji: Tuberculosis, is a preventable and curable diseases, though it has taken a large number of lives around the globe, according to Dr Naresh Purohit, Advisor- National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme.
Speaking to UNI over phone, he said nearly 1.5 million people each year die due to this fatal health condition mostly in developing countries.
“As per the World Health Organization, almost ten million people were diagnosed with tuberculosis in the year 2019. India is home to more than 25 per cent of the global TB burden, and each year, more than 4,00,000 lives are lost in the country to this deadly ailment,” he said.
Dr Purohit said, “Tuberculosis is a social disease, caused due to overcrowding and malnutrition. The ailment disproportionately affects the financially marginalised sections of society, and the stigma associated with this disease lead to under-reporting and under-diagnosis.”
“The acclaimed epidemiologist averred that India is among the most densely- populated nations in the world, and the physical proximity between people here leads to spread of certain infectious diseases, like the deadly tuberculosis. The onset of coronavirus and call to mask-up and maintain physical distance to prevent its spread was followed religiously in India, and this helped prevent the spread of virus to a great extent. The positive results from this suggest India is a disciplined nation, and its denizens can be encouraged to follow certain best practices to prevent spread of TB too,” he said.
Dr Purohit averred that there was no doubt that India can successfully deploy similar tactics it employed against covid-19 to contain TB disease.
“Tuberculosis spreads from an infected person to others through droplets, and this transmission can be stopped by ensuring physical distancing, and ensuring infected individuals wear masks while in public spaces. It is best advised, family members and others who come in close contact with TB patients must also wear masks while meeting other non-suspecting people. Such steps will ensure tuberculosis is contained efficiently across India,” he said.
Highlighting the need for an early diagnosis, Dr Purohit pointed out that covid-19 pandemic demonstrated the importance of early diagnosis and treatment in time to ensure a cure.
“New and emerging diagnostic techniques give rapid and ultra-precise results compared to the traditional sputum test. Instant case notification helps in better case tracking and contact monitoring, and through these, India can ensure prevent spread of tuberculosis to a great extent. TB skin tests and TB blood tests are among the most prominent tests to ascertain infection positivity among victims,” the noted physician said.
Citing his recent research report published in the Asia-Pacific Journal of Respiratory Health, Dr Purohit said, “India is facing the highest burden of drug resistant (DR) TB worldwide. If we look deeply at the problem of MDR, it is a big problem in our country though the government is giving free medicines in government hospitals. In spite of all this, these patients are either borrowing money or selling their property to treat it especially in surgical and complex TB cases. Drug resistance is a formidable obstacle to TB care and prevention globally, making it harder and longer to treat, often with poorer outcomes for patients. It becomes somewhat difficult to treat TB infection, especially when it is MDR (Multi Drug Resistant), XDR (Extensively Drug Resistant), TDR (Total Drug Resistant) tuberculosis in these patients.” (UNI)
