E-Paper
UP’s fight against TB gets a push, 6-month cure from November
Dr. Urvashi Singh of the ministry of health and family welfare, Government of India, said within the next month, a cure for MDR-TB which acted within six months, would be available in Uttar Pradesh. KGMU vice chancellor Dr Soniya Nityanand said that medical staff would be trained in the use of new MDR-TB drugs.
LUCKNOW: Around 200 doctors, as well as 150 others who joined online, participated in the scientific programme on antimicrobial drug resistance in the fight against tuberculosis, organised by the department of respiratory medicine in King George’s Medical University. The department is also identified as one of five centres of excellence for research on MDR-TB (multidrug resistant TB) in the country.
Dr. Urvashi Singh of the ministry of health and family welfare, Government of India, said within the next month, a cure for MDR-TB which acted within six months, would be available in Uttar Pradesh. KGMU vice chancellor Dr Soniya Nityanand said that medical staff would be trained in the use of new MDR-TB drugs.
Dr Suryakant, head of the respiratory medicine department and the chairperson of the zonal task force of the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme reminded the participants and audience of the Government of India’s recent decision to double the monthly nutritional allowance of registered TB patients from Rs. 500 to Rs. 1000 per month. He added, “The purpose of the event was to increase awareness among doctors and healthcare workers involved in TB care about the causes and solutions to the biggest challenge in eliminating MDR-TB and XDR-TB (extensively drug resistant TB).”
The department headed by Dr. Suryakant is the hub of all TB treatments of the state, with branch facilities in Meerut, Agra, Aligarh, Saifai (Etawah), Jhansi, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Ambedkar Nagar, and Gorakhpur. There are plans to set up facilities in 44 other districts of UP, in the interest of making the state TB-free.
