Daily Times

Sir: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem in Pakistan, which ranks fifth among 22 TB high-burden countries. The disease accounts for 61 percent of the TB burden in the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) Mediterranean region. TB is a treatable and curable disease. However, government hospitals, more than 30 private doctors and four private laboratories have been working in this regard. Inappropriate or incorrect use of anti-TB drugs and use of poor quality medicines have not produced satisfactory results to control the disease.
Tuberculosis is an infectious bacterial disease caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs. It is transmitted from person to person via air from the throat and lungs of the people with an active respiratory disease. In healthy people, infection with mycobacterium tuberculosis often causes no symptoms since the person’s immune system acts to wall off the bacteria. Tuberculosis causes approximately 70,000 deaths and at least 420,000 new TB cases emerge every year.
It is very important to treat TB patients with the correct dosage. TB medicines are not effective if they are not given in the correct dose. If the dose prescribed is less than the recommended dose, the TB bacteria will not be killed and they may become resistant to the drugs. If the dose is higher than recommended, the drugs may cause severe toxic effects. In my opinion, there is an imperative and urgent need to train staff and medical students to combat this disease. To make Pakistan TB-free, the state, civil society organisations, teachers and social activists have to play an active role in order to create awareness about this menace.
SHAIKH ABDUL RASHEED
Shikarpur