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The district has witnessed 71,657 cases of tuberculosis (TB) in the last six years and 2,923 people have lost their lives due to the disease, according to data provided by the district tuberculosis officer.
Ashish Chawla, district tuberculosis officer, said awareness about the disease is crucial, adding, “Not all types of tuberculosis are communicable. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis, outside the lungs, is not transmissible at all. Tuberculosis does not need us to fear it. Needs treatment. And with the right treatment, it was completely curable.”
Noting that tuberculosis remains a “public health hazard”, chest expert Dr Amandeep Singh said: “With early diagnosis and proper treatment, there was little to fear.”
“As soon as you see persistent fever, cough and weight loss, even within a two-week period, you should consult the nearest caregiver so that if there was tuberculosis infection it can be discovered early before there is too much damage and treatment can be started. treatment. on time. “If the prescribed regimen is followed, the disease is cured within the stipulated time,” he added. However, he warned that if not treated properly the disease could worsen and even increase the chances of mortality. “There are two types of tuberculosis, drug-sensitive and drug-resistant. If a patient does not take anti-tuberculosis drugs as prescribed, bacteria can develop resistance to the drugs,” he added.
Of the 71,657 cases, 2,903 were multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR). MDR cases were recorded to have increased in the last seven years. In 2018 there were 337 cases. In 2023, there were 511.
Dr. Singh emphasized that the prescribed treatment must be followed to ensure that the bacteria do not develop resistance to the drugs in the first place. He also urged people not to fall for misinformation about the disease that only worsens the lives of patients and their families. “Yes, it is still a major public health problem, but it is treatable,” he added.
The district tuberculosis officer said that while there was a simple mechanism for private hospitals to notify patients through a portal, their approach was lax. He added that a private hospital receives $500 for notifying a single TB patient. Therefore, she said, the total number of patients could be higher than the number available.