Wednesday 23 March 2016

World Tuberculosis Day: Rally held by the Indian Medical Association to spread awareness about TB

World Tuberculosis Day: Rally held by the Indian Medical Association to spread awareness about TB New Delhi, March 22, 2016: An awareness rally was organized by the Indian Medical Association today to raise awareness about the prevention, management and treatment of TB. World Tuberculosis Day is observed annually on March 24. The rally started at the IMA house and was carried on in and around ITO. It saw participation of IMA members, students and the general public. India is the country with the highest burden of TB. It is estimated that about 40% of the Indian population is infected with TB bacteria, the vast majority of whom have latent rather than active TB. The World Health Organization (WHO) statistics for 2014 give an estimated incidence figure of 2.2 million cases of TB for India out of a global incidence of 9 million. The estimated TB prevalence figure for 2014 is given as 2.5 million. Each year 12 lakh (1,200,000) Indians are notified as having newly diagnosed TB. In addition at least 2.7 lakh (270,000) Indians die. Some estimates calculate the deaths as being twice as high. TB can affect any age, caste or class but cases are mainly poor people and mostly men. Slum dwellers, tribal populations, prisoners and people already sick with compromised immune systems are over-represented among the cases, compared to their numbers in the population. Children comprise 40% of the population but are currently under-diagnosed in India. The economic burden of TB is extremely high. Between 2006 and 2014, TB cost the Indian economy a massive USD 340 billion. Speaking about the same, Dr SS Agarwal – National President IMA and Padma Shri Awardee, Dr KK Aggarwal – Honorary Secretary General IMA in a joint statement said, “Case notification is estimated to be only 58% in our country. Over one third of cases are not diagnosed, or they are diagnosed but not treated, or they are diagnosed and treated but not notified to the RNTCP. Notification of TB cases is extremely important to help achieve a TB free India and the IMA is committed to educating its 2.5 lakh members as well as the Indian population about the importance of TB prevention, timely diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation. Through this awareness rally, our aim was to bring all stakeholders together to help raise a common voice against the growing incidence of TB in our country. We hope that together we can help achieve a Swachch, Swasth and TB Mukt Bharat.” Tuberculosis, or TB, is an infectious bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs. It is transmitted from person to person via droplets from the throat and lungs of people with the active respiratory disease. Adding to this Dr Sukhedu, Director RNTCP, IMA & Dr N V Kamat- Principal Advisor IMA in a joint statement said, “In healthy people, infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis often causes no symptoms, since the person's immune system acts to “wall off” the bacteria. However in people whose immune system is weak, the infection spreads and causes complications. The symptoms of active TB of the lung are coughing, sometimes with sputum or blood, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats. Tuberculosis is treatable with a six-month course of antibiotics. Notifying TB cases as well as timely diagnosis and treatment is key. The Indian Medical Association also released a set of guidelines and preventive tips: Do hafte se jyada khansi, wajan ghatna, bukhaar aana, balgam mein khoon aane par turant doctor se salaah karein. Ye TB ho sakti hai Hate TB, not the patient, treat with dignity and confidentiality Do not ignore cough of more than 2 weeks, it may be TB. Notify all TB cases @ www.imatbnotification.emedinews.in Diagnose and treat every case of TB as per the IMA Standards for TB Care in India Serological tests for diagnosis of TB are banned Two consecutive negative sputum samples for AFB at the end of full treatment means TB is cured. MDR TB is a disease variant which is resistant to drugs INH, Rifampicin. MDR TB requires treatment for 24-27 months All diagnosed TB patients should be offered HIV counseling & testing TB patients should be given dosages of the drugs depending upon body weight (choose a drug fixed dose combination, which provides one tablet per 15 kg body weight) Counsel all TB patients on cough hygiene, nutrition & treatment adherence All patients who have been suffering from a cough for more than two weeks must wear surgical masks to prevent spreading the infection to others. All cases of TB should also be notified by chemists

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