Early diagnosis and proper treatment can cure a person of tuberculosis, which is still a major infectious disease affecting hundreds of thousands of people annually around the globe, including Pakistan.
Medical experts said this on Monday in connection with World Tuberculosis Day, which happened a day earlier on March 24. The Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) marked the day with a resolve to make the world free from tuberculosis, which is commonly known with its abbreviation TB.
TB has been known as a deadly disease since centuries, the experts said. It remains the deadliest infectious killer with around 4,500 deaths and 30,000 new infections each day throughout the world.
The World Health Organisation has announced an initiative “Find. Treat. All. #EndTB” with the Global Fund and the Stop TB Partnership to engage all leaders of the world to combat the deadly disease.
Every year, the SIUT observes the day with an emphasis on spreading awareness about tuberculosis. The institute has also been collaborating with the National TB Programme, which has recently established the DOTS centre in this regard at the SIUT main campus.
This year, the SIUT carried out an anti-TB campaign at its primary healthcare centre in Kathore, Malir. The institute distributed banners and pamphlets in the nearby villages to encourage people to visit the centre and get awareness about the ailment.
Infectious diseases consultant Dr Sunil Dodani, microbiologist at SIUT Dr Ali Nadeem, and Dr Umbo from Kathore established a one-day camp at the Kathore centre along with their team members.
The main purpose of the camp was to find active cases of the disease with the help of history, examination, chest X-ray and sputum examination and enrol the patients on the DOTS programme. Awareness sessions were also held at the camp featuring videos and lectures.
Dr Dodani explained to the villagers at the awareness session about the cause of TB. The disease is caused by a germ called tuberculosis which spreads from person to person through cough or sneeze.
The air exhaled by TB patients may contain the germ which can infect people nearby, the expert said, adding that the new recipient of the germ may not show signs of the disease immediately as the germ may lie dormant inside the body for several years only to become active when that person has become weak due to age, pregnancy, diabetes or any other disease.
To prevent the disease, the carrier of the germ must be diagnosed early and should take medicines regularly. TB is a completely curable disease provided that the patient follows the doctor’s advice carefully.
Dr Nadeem urged the government to end poverty and provide better nutrition to the people as poor lifestyle and malnourishment were the main reasons that helped tuberculosis flourish in our part of the world.
He also asked the people to come to the DOTS centres where they could be tested for TB through a simple sputum examination. A large number of people visited the centre throughout the day to get knowledge and awareness about the disease.