Stop TB in My Lifetime

We doctors have a bad habit of giving knowledge (or as some would say- lecture), as a part of health education. I am saying bad habit because one of the fellows listening to my talk said, “Why should I care about TB? Neither I nor any of my family/friend had it. I have other things to worry about.”

Well, he was right on one thing. He has other things to worry about, but TB deserves a thought. Like every year, we celebrated the World TB day on 24^th March. This year is the second year of a two-year campaign for World TB Day, with the slogan “Stop TB in My Lifetime”.  Why is the World Health Organization and Indian government worried so much as to spend crores of rupees into giving you free treatment and including celebrities to campaign and make you understand the importance of early diagnosis and complete treatment? I’ll tell you why. Have a look at some statistics –

Worldwide, there are an estimated 87 lakh new cases of TB every year and 14 lakh people die from TB; TB is among the top three causes of death for women aged 15 to 44; there were an estimated 5 lakh cases and 64,000 deaths among children in 2011; 60,000 patients with multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) enrolled in treatment by end 2011 – but estimated number is 5 times more! Among infections, TB is second biggest killer after HIV/AIDS. A recent article in a leading newspaper stated that doctors estimate more than 200 children with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Delhi alone!

So what? How does it affect you? Like it is said that illiteracy is a root cause for many social problems so is illiteracy regarding your health a major obstacle to eliminating certain diseases. India could achieve polio free year because of the extreme efforts by the health officials and people who helped spread awareness. Similarly the best way to tackle the TB problem is awareness, health education, knowledge. More the number of people knowing about the symptoms and treatment options, better will be case detection and cure rates. Cough for a long period, fever, loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss, especially when you have a close contact with TB, could mean that you could have this infection. There are certain diagnostic tests which can detect TB in less than 12 hours (some even in 2 hours!) and also detect drug resistance in a short time. Also treatment available can completely cure you of this disease. MDR tuberculosis has long treatment duration and many patients stop their treatment prematurely due to various reasons. Delaying treatment, wrong/inadequate treatment can not only harm the patient but also his/her contacts. No person is totally immune to TB so whenever you see a person suspected to have TB, urge him/her to get themselves thoroughly examined by a specialist and to take complete treatment. Being aware and spreading this awareness can bring this menace under control. Many of us know these things but don’t help out people who don’t. Help spread the awareness, so that one day all of us can proudly say, “I saved a life today, I made a difference!”

Apart from doing my duty as a doctor, I do my part by giving knowledge (or you can say a lecture!). I want to stop TB in my lifetime, do you?