WORLD TB DAY - 24 March 2014 : Let's make India TB Free.

Today is a world TB day. 

You may ask why should I care or how does it matter to me. 

Well, I would say that if 40% of Indian population is carrying the Tuberculosis bacteria at any point of time( though most would be harboring a latent infection), and if 25% of the global Tuberculosis patients are in India ( 2.2 million cases out of 8.7 million cases), if despite the initiation of the NTP - National Tuberculosis Program since nineteen sixties we have been unable to eradicate this bacteria from our lives, it matters to all us. 

Though the incidence of tuberculosis has decreased but the overall burden of the disease stays still high. Incidence is 176/ 1 lakh population and prevalence is 5.05/ thousand population with sputum positive prevalence 2.27 / thousand population in India. 

 Dr Robert Koch in 1882 discovered the cause of tuberculosis, the TB bacillus & thus paved the way toward diagnosing and curing tuberculosis. 

But what can I do as an individual or a member of society for the cause. Yes, we all can contribute in our small ways. If there is person in your surrounding who may have these symptoms, please refer or take them to the nearest DOTS center or any government hospital for evaluation. 

1. Look out fever that is 

     unexplained 

     prolonged 

     associated with night sweats & weight loss

     and not responsive to simple antibiotics

2. Prolonged cough > 2 weeks that is not due to any allergy

3. general symptoms such as weight loss, night sweats, 

4. specific symptoms depending on which organ has been - 

Vertebral spine :                                 Back pain, swelling on spine

Bone :                                                 Long-lasting bone infection

Joints :                                                Painful joint swelling, usually affecting    one joint

Kidney and urinary tract:                  Painful urination, blood in urine, frequent urination, lower back pain

Upper respiratory tract (larynx):       Hoarseness of voice, pain on swallowing

Pleural membrane of lungs:              Chest pain, difficulty in breathing, fever

Meninges of the brain (meningitis):  Headache, fever, neck stiffness, vomiting, irritability, convulsions

Lymph node :                                       Swelling of the node, draining pus. Long-lasting ulcer despite antibiotic treatment, draining pus

Also please make sure that person undergoes sputum evaluation for tuberculosis bacteria i.e. AFB, and starts the treatment and adheres to the medical advise. Not completing the treatment is frequent cause of resistant tuberculosis, which has death rate of upto 80%.

Keeping these few things in mind,

LET US PLEDGE TODAY TO MAKE ALL EFFORT TO MAKE INDIA TUBERCULOSIS FREE.