World TB day observed

SHILLONG, MAR 23: Meghalaya along with the rest of the world observed World Tuberculosis Day at Donbosco Youth Centre, organized jointly by the State TB cell and Rotary Club of Shillong.

Addressing the gathering Meghalaya health minister AL Hek, who graced the occasion as chief guest, said that the “state has consistently had a high case detection rate of over 70% which is the national bench mark.

Hek, however, said the state’s cure and success rate has been hovering around the national target of 85%”. He further added, “Data of the last five years has revealed that almost 98,209 tuberculosis suspects were tested for the disease by using sputum smear microscopy, yielding to a total of 24499 tuberculosis cases.

Hek also informed that “Multi Drug resistant-Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) most commonly develops  in the course of TB  treatment, and is most commonly due to doctors giving inappropriate treatment, or patients missing doses or failing to complete their treatment.”

Hek said MDR-TB strains are often less transmissible and the outbreak occur more readily in people with weakened immune systems like patients with HIV). He further said outbreaks among non immune-compromised healthy people do occur, but are less common”.

Hek told the gathering consisting mostly students, “Among people with HIV/AIDS, TB is a major co-infection and the leading cases of death, responsible for killing approximately 350,000 HIV-infected individuals in 2010.”

Hek revealed that in Meghalaya, the intensified TB-HIV package was launched in 2010. There has been cross trainings between the two programmes, enabling cross referrals between the ICTC (NSCP) to DMC (RNTCP). The TB-HIV collaborative effort also improved over time, he said.- By Our Reporter