Healthy Soch
“There is a need to mobilize resources further and increasing awareness on the importance of immunization”
New Delhi, 14th March 2018: Year 2025 has been set as the deadline for a tuberculosis (TB)-free India by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. This is five years ahead of the global deadline set by the WHO. About 25 years, TB was declared as an emergency, and since then, different countries have adopted varied strategies to keep it under check.
The number of TB-related deaths in India in 2016 was more than 4 lakh, a number that is one-third of the global toll.
Speaking about this, Padma Shri Awardee Dr K K Aggarwal, President Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI) and Immediate Past National President Indian Medical Association (IMA), said, “The target set for a TB-free India sounds ambitious and promising. However, it remains to be seen what efforts go into actualizing the same. TB is the third leading cause of years of life lost (YLLs) lost, in the country. It is caused by bacilli spread through droplet nuclei (less than 5 microns) infection. Droplet nuclei can remain suspended in the air for extended periods, and thus are a source of exposure to susceptible individuals. Split AC is not the right atmosphere for sputum-positive cases. Natural windows and fans are better alternatives. TB does not spread through handshakes, using public toilets, sharing food and utensils, blood transfusion and casual contact. TB can be of lungs (pulmonary), or outside the lungs (extra pulmonary). In 85% of cases, lungs are involved.”
Contact tracing increases community awareness about the disease and interrupts the chain of transmission of the disease through early diagnosis of cases.
Adding further, Dr Aggarwal, who is also the Vice President of CMAAO, said, “Early diagnosis and complete treatment is important to prevent and control TB. To address the problem of rising drug resistance, TB is a notifiable disease. The approach to all notifiable diseases should therefore be based on DTR “Diagnose, Treat & Report”: Diagnose early, using sputum GeneXpert test; Treat: Complete and effective treatment based on national guidelines, using FDC; and Report: Mandatory reporting.”
Some tips from HCFI.
- Wash your hands after sneezing, coughing or holding your hands near your mouth or nose.
- Cover your mouth with a tissue when you cough, sneeze or laugh. Discard used tissues in a plastic bag, then seal and throw it away.
- Do not attend work or school.
- Avoid close contact with others.
- Sleep in a room away from other family members.
- Ventilate your room regularly. TB spreads in small closed spaces. Put a fan in you window to blow out air that may contain bacteria.
HealthySoch
