3,000 undergoing treatment for TB in Madurai district: Collector

This was conveyed by Collector, K Veera Raghav Rao during a TB awareness programme organised at Madurai Medical College, on Friday. Delivering the presidential address at the programme, the Collector said that there was a need for a long-time monitoring of TB patients as it was a contagious disease. 

He claimed that at present about 3,000 were getting treated in 262 DOT centres across the district. There was a prescribed treatment protocol available in all the DOT centres. Each patient, who has this disease, was being allotted an exclusive kit as part of efforts to prevent the ailment from spreading to others. 

TB infection was a public health issue and even private hospitals and clinics should frequently update the district administration about its prevalence rate in their respective areas. The Collector also appreciated those volunteers who were coming forward to help the TB patients. 

N Rukmani, Joint Director (Health), in her address, claimed that TB was a notified disease in India during the freedom struggle era and post-independence period and the prevalence rate was high then. But, now after a lot of campaigns such as Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme the disease was now under control. 

“But if a person is suffering from cough and cold for two weeks continuously, he or she should consult a doctor immediately and must check for TB. At present the prevalence rate in the country is 195 per 1 lakh and the incidence rate is 167 per 1 lakh. Still the mortality rate is 17 deaths per 1 lakh,” informed Rukmani. 

Similar TB awareness programmes was also observed at the railway hospital at Madurai. The programme was conducted under the theme ‘Unite to End TB’.