THE menace of Tuberculosis (TB) is growing as infection is becoming more drug-resistant for treatment. Moreover, drugs, which are capable of overcoming this resistance, are yet to be produced, medical practitioners said. As per media reports Tuberculosis caused by infectious Mycobacterium tuberculosis agent generally responds well to anti-TB drugs. In some persons, these first line drugs appear not effective as the causative organism has become resistant to these. So, doctors are worried about curing these patients infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis now the rural poor being affected at large scale.
Globally, an estimated 450,000 people developed MDR-TB and at least 170,000 deaths were caused by the disease were reported in 2012. Bangladesh ranks10th among 27 high MDR-TB burden countries. The emergence of MDR-TB has become a major threat for TB control in Bangladesh. A normal TB patient gets cured completely if he or she takes drug for six months regularly. If the patient is not regular, or does not complete the full course then resistance will foil the treatment. Similarly, if the drugs are below quality, then TB germs become drug-resistant. This is called MDR-TB and it generally cannot be cured with existing drugs.
The patients have to take new drugs for about 22 to 24 months. According to WHO estimates, there are 10,000 MDR-TB patients in Bangladesh and many of them stay out of the treatment facilities for various reasons. Most of them cannot afford to stay in the hospital for 2 years. The most important thing a person can do to prevent the spread of MDR-TB is to take full course of medications. Any negligence or lack of awareness of the patients may lead to revival of the disease after initial sign of recovery.
Fighting tuberculosis especially MDR-TB remains an uphill task as the country faces budget shortage while some 1.5 lakh patients of the air-borne disease remain undetected annually. But the government is saying that lives of 92 percent of patients infected by this disease are saved yearly. Given worrying trends in tuberculosis worldwide, the United Nations has set a target to reduce TB deaths by 95 percent and cut new cases by 90 percent between 2015 and 2035, and to ensure that no family is burdened with catastrophic medical expenses due to TB. If fund shortage continues in Bangladesh, meeting the UN target will be impossible.
Since the challenge of containing MDR-TB is huge, we need to ensure adequate human resources to manage MDR-TB patients. The government must employ Drug Resistance TB Teams at the community level, and bring the treatment at their door steps. TB patients are mainly poor and can hardly afford to meet huge expenses. They must be served with low cost drug at local community level.
