'Multi Drug Resistant Tuberculosis on the rise in city'

Multi Drug resistant (MDR) Tuberculosis is on the rise in the city and outskirts in an alarming rate, said doctors who joined a programme at a city hotel organised by Tuberculosis Health Action Learning Initiative (THALI).

Rise of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis threatens to derail the progress in the country. Statistics say that 2 percent more paediatric TB cases have been reported from the city than the national average. Malnourished children in Bengal are more vulnerable to TB than others. Around 34 percent children are overweight which also contributes to the increasing number of victims.

Dr Sushmita Roy Chowdhury, a lung expert said that what is alarming is that more number of children are falling victims to the disease. The MDR TB is multiplying in hours and the early detection was necessary to check the disease.

The disease can affect any organ if it was not detected and treated early. Earlier it was believed that upper-middle-class people were mostly affected with the disease but now people belonging to lower-middle-class have also been affected by the disease.

She also pointed out the importance of continuing medication in case of a patients suffering from the disease up to a certain period of time. Many are found discontinuing medication which further complicates the situation, Dr Roy Chowdhury said.

It may be mentioned that Kolkata is India's largest city with a population of 14.1 million (Census 2011). As per the 2016 TB report, the city reported 679 TB cases to the RNTCP from 5,281 registered private establishments. The lack of involvement of the private sector is, inter alia, a key contributor to under performance in TB outcomes, such as case detection and treatment success rate. According to the WHO 2016 Global Tuberculosis Report, every minute one person dies in TB in India.

Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has joined hands with the THALI to fight the disease. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed between the KMC and THALI to carry out a joint campaign and training to identify the victims.