By Our Reporter
Shillong: The number of cases of Tuberculosis (TB), a highly contagious disease that usually infects the immunosuppressed host, is continuously on the rise across the State.
The alarming statistics of TB in the state with over 1640 TB patients detected in 2011 has called for a more serious action to prevent the spread of this dreaded disease.
According to reports, in 2011 out of 1640 TB patients (new cases), about 56 (3 percent) lives were lost and about 107 (7 percent) and about 85 (5 percent) were found to be defaulters and failures respectively.
“This statistic is very alarming,” said State TB Officer Dr SM Ryntathiang.
Dr Ryntathiang shared these facts with a wide-range of audience on the occasion of the commemoration of the World TB Day organized by the Meghalaya State TB Control Society at Don Bosco Youth Centre here on Saturday.
While stressing on the lackadaisical attitude of the TB patients, Dr Ryntathiang said despite having talked about the importance of Direct Observed Treatments (DOTS) in a number of forum, “Many patients are not serious about it and the default rate and death rate due to TB keeps increasing year after year”, she added.
Further, Dr Ryntathiang informed that with Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) which was started in 2003, the Meghalaya State Tuberculosis Control Society has been able to implement the DOTS PLUS for the treatment of the Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) TB patients and 5 patients (two in Tura and three in Shillong) have been put on treatment since February this year.
Meanwhile, addressing the gathering as the chief guest, Additional Chief Secretary BPO Warjri said that it is distressing to learn that over thousands of people die due to TB in a single day.
Poverty, insufficient food and lack of education are the main reasons behind the cause of this dreaded disease, Warjri said adding “The poor are very vulnerable to this disease since most of them are not aware of the danger of TB and it was found that they often seek medical help at the later stage when the disease has already spread”.