PADMA Celebrities to join for a social cause

World TB Day on 24th March

 PADMA Celebrities to join for a social cause

 IMA saved government over 30 crores by preventing development of drug resistant TB

 Padma Awardees of the country will join hands for social causes of National Interest. Addressing a press conference here, Padma Shri Awardee Dr K K Aggarwal Honorary Secretary General INA and Padma Shri Awardee Ashok Chakradhar, Noted Kavi said that efforts are being made to have Padma Awardees meet regularly and do something collectively for the society. The first on the line will be endorsing the health concern about drug resistant TB. The duo said that the best treatment of drug resistant TB is its prevention. If TB is partially or wrongly treated 3% of them will become drug resistant requiring more than 2 years of treatment  and more than 2 lac worth drugs.

Padma Awardes, Birju Maharaj, Sonal Man Singh, Purshottal Lal,  , Uma Sharma, Amjad Ali Khan, Naresh Trehan, Ambrish Mithal, Ashok Seth, T S klair, Neelam Klair, Arvind Lal, Sudhir Tailang, Sovna Narayan, Geeta Chandran, Satpal, Surinder Sharma, Ashok Chakradhar and many others will support the combined social campaign, said Dr Aggarwal and Dr Chakradhar.

All patients of TB needs to be notified and followed up till they are cured, added Padma Shri Awardee Dr AM Pillai National President IMA.

Patients notified in private sector if lost in follow up could result in multi drug resistant TB, added Dr Suresh Gutta National Coordinator TB IMA.

Efforts of IMA have helped in identifying, follow , treat and cure one lakh ( 104000  to be exact) out of one million missing TB cases in India.   Out of these 33913 cases were sputum positive and infectious to the community. Each sputum positive case spreads infection to 15 other healthy persons and ten percent of all TB infected persons develop clinical disease.

IMA has been able to avert about 508695 new TB infections due to reduction of TB transmission by treating infective TB cases. Out of these ten percent, 50870 cases could have developed clinical TB disease. Three percent of them, 1526 cases could have become drug resistant over time.

 Treatment of 1526 drug resistant cases could have caused the government extra cost of over 30.52 crores ( Rs 2 lac per treatment). Apart IMA's contribution has been able to check impending Drug resistant TB epidemic.

Apart IMA has also trained and provided a TB faculty cum experts of over 16000 doctors in the country and has been able to sensitize over one lac private doctors.  All these doctors follow one TB treatment protocol adhering to Standards of TB Care in India. This itself further checks the development of MDR TB.

IMA has brought the private sector to the forefront to shoulder the efforts of Government in TB Control, said Dr Aggarwal.

IMA activity has helped linking the Government machinery to private sector doctors and hospitals of these one lakh patients. Patients are benefitted as they get an opportunity for free drugs and facilities for Drug susceptibility testing. These patients are not just being referred to Government sector for treatment, but gets managed by the private sector following standards of TB care in India.

IMA also released it slogan for the general practitioners" I have notified a TB patient today: have you. Do it today

IMA is also linking private doctors and private doctors owned clinical establishments into the loop of DOTS centers by way of establishing peripheral health institutes. A PHI is a center in private sector linked to government DOTS and provided confidential and free treatment to the public. Over 1700 such centers have been established by IMA so far. IMA hospital Board of India has been rope in by IMA to expand its scope of PHI centers. HBI has over 10000 member.

Talks are also on with National Accreditation Board of Hospitals to accreditate PHI in regards to quality and safety.