When Dr. Zarir Udwadia wrote a letter to a medical journal regarding patients in Mumbai suffering from an non-treatable form of TB, he hoped it would move authorities to heighten the fight against the disease. However, what happened was that the Indian government came out with a backlash, landing the Mumbai based doctor in controversy. […]
Delamanid is one of the two new drugs for TB treatment. The choices for treating multi-drug resistant as well as extensively drug resistant TB is shrinking. In this context, Delamanid is a welcome addition. However, it’s highly unlikely that the drug would get authorization for marketing. The manufactures has submitted the application with the DCGI, […]
Saurabh Rane was just 20 years old when it was diagnosed that he had tuberculosis. The young doctor started a course of medication which didn’t help him much. The fevers continued and so did the weight loss. He felt continually anxious and exhausted. More tests were done and the results were even more disheartening- it […]
The government recently launched an intense house-to-house search to find out unreported TB cases across 18 states. The search, which took place between Januray 15 and 31 has screened about 34 lakh people. It’s been reported that at least 26,000 people among them have been identified with TB symptoms. 1,800 cases have been confirmed till […]
Dr. Lalitkumar Anande is the chief medical officer of Sewri Tuberculosis Hospital in Mumbai- considered to be the largest such facility in India. The 53 year old doctor is considered to be a one man army against the disease. In the last four years alone, he has communicated to more than a lakh people in […]
Over the last six years Dr Raman Kakar has made a list of 5,300 cases in which patients suffered from a relapse of TB even after they completed the full medication dose. The doctor noticed that in multiple cases, the patients had completed the full medication course on six occasions but still the disease reared […]
The tuberculosis rate in India could be way more than what has been estimated, shows a study. Some of the most important facts that the study brings to light are the following: India’s annual TB cases was assumed to be 2.2 million. But the study puts the number at more than 3.8 million in 2014 […]
Tuberculosis patients of the country who seek help from private sector face a delay in getting diagnosed correctly-the delay could be as long as two months. And that is if the diagnosis happens at all. This sobering reality was brought out by systematic reviews of Indian studies. The reasons of delay need to be tackled […]
The Indian government has decided to launch a daily drug regimen for treating tuberculosis. This will usurp the existing alternate days schedule. In the initial phase, this is likely to be implemented in five states that include Maharashtra. It’s expected that the launch will happen by September-October of this year.The process is expected to improve […]
Two first year female resident doctors at the state run JJ Hospital in Mumbai have been diagnosed with TB in just the last two weeks, forcing hospital authorities to give them treatment that is expected to continue for atleast 6 months. Both doctors have been in or around the vicinity of the TB ward. One […]