Bhubaneswar, April 1: More than 40 per cent of the population in India carry the
tuberculosis bacteria though their microbiological test report is found to be negative, an
eminent expert on the disease said.
Though they carry the bacteria, the disease does not get manifested in them and
around 10 per cent of them develop the disease subsequently. However, these
asymptomatic TB cases keep spreading the disease, Prof. (Dr.) Sudarsan Pothal, Professor
at the Sri Jagannath Medical College Hospital at Puri, said.
“The need is to screen all patients coming to a doctor or hospital for treatment of
any disease to detect latent tuberculosis in them. This can be done by using portable X-ray
machines,” he said while speaking at a program organised to observe the World TB Week
at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital here on Saturday.
This is necessary as the silent carriers will continue to grow and spread tuberculosis
unless transmission is stopped through screening, Prof. (Dr.) Pothal said.
Prof. (Dr.) Pothal said the new BPaLM regimen of treatment to fight tuberculosis has
proved to be safe and effective while providing a quicker treatment option compared to
other modes of treatment practised till now. The new regimen was a combination of four
drugs— Bedaquiline, Pretomanid, Linezolid and Moxifloxacin—which has a better safety
profile and 94 per cent success rate, he said.
The treatment is also for a much shorter duration of 26 to 38 weeks, he said.
The program was also addressed by Dr. Mohan Venkatesh Pulle, Consultant Thoracic
Surgeon at the Institute of Chest Surgery, Chest Onco-surgery and Lung Transplantation at
Medanta-The Medicity, Gurugram, Prof. (Dr.) Pusparaj Samantasinghar, Medical
Superintendent of IMS and SUM Hospital and Prof. (Dr.) Banani Jena, Head of Department
of Respiratory Medicine in the hospital and President of Odisha Chest Society.
Dr. Pulle said before 1940 tuberculosis was being treated only by surgeons as surgery
was the treatment of choice. The development of thoracic surgery was completely based
on treatment of tuberculosis over a period of 100 years, he said.
Prof. (Dr.) Jena spoke about the vision to make India tuberculosis free and the steps
being taken to achieve this goal.
Prof. (Dr.) Rakhi Ludam and Prof. (Dr.) Priyadarshini Behera, professors in the
department of Respiratory Medicine were also present.