World TB Day 2022 – Let’s aim for TB free India

Tuberculosis (TB) has been known from time immemorial, and as of now, as per the World health organisation (WHO), 9 million people fall sick with the ailment every year.

In India, as many as 4 lac Indians die of this easily diagnosed and curable disease each year.

About Tuberculosis  

After discovering the Tuberculosis germ (Mycobacteria tuberculosis) by Dr Robert Koch in 1882, the first drug against TB was discovered in 1948. Since then, we have advanced in medicine that the present treatment duration is 6 months which previously used to be two years.

Every year 24th of March is commemorated to create awareness regarding tuberculosis. Our honourable Prime Minister has announced the END TB strategy to be completed by 2025 to eliminate TB from our country.

How does tuberculosis spread?  

Tuberculosis is transmitted by droplet infection by sneezing and coughing and enters the body through the lungs. However, besides the lungs, it can affect any part of the body( lymph nodes, brain, heart, gut, bones etc.).

Common symptoms of Tuberculosis include:

• Cough with mucus or blood lasting for more than 2 weeks
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Unintentional loss of Weight
• Loss of appetite
• Night sweats

How to prevent and cure tuberculosis? 

Diagnosis of tuberculosis is essential to prevent severe disease and prevent transmission as people ill with TB can infect up to 10-15 other people through close contact over a year. A sputum examination is a primary test to diagnose lung tuberculosis. Meanwhile, other types of tuberculosis can be diagnosed by taking tissue/biopsy from that particular organ.

Newer diagnostic methods are now available, which are molecular tests, and it detects the genetic material of TB bacillus within 2 hours.

Treatment includes 4 medications in most cases and a total duration of 6 months is sufficient to cure the disease. Both diagnostic facilities and treatment are available free in government centres, but tuberculosis is not well controlled.

This is also because of drug-resistant strains (Multidrug-resistant TB), which have increased over the last three decades. The leading cause of drug resistance is non-compliance with the treatment regime.

Prevention of tuberculosis

 Presently, the BCG vaccine is the only vaccination present against TB globally. It has been given in India under a universal immunisation program at the time of birth. However, the efficacy of this vaccine is not 100%, as seen with other diseases such as Polio.

It is essential to identify symptoms of tuberculosis early, and a timely diagnosis can make treatment easier and minimise transmission to achieve the goal of END TB. The motive of World Tuberculosis Day is to bring awareness so that people come to know about this dreadful disease and ways to prevent it. Even if they are not affected by it, they can always assist the motive of this day by creating awareness among other people.