The South Asian: TB Continues to Spread in North India

January 19, 2009

TB Continues to Spread in North India

A TOI report on the inefficacy of the DOTS program and the spread of TB.

Ahmed Ansari, a hand loom weaver in Lohta area is suffering from Tuberculosis (TB) and has no idea about microscopic centres under Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS) programme that was introduced under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNCTP) almost 10 years ago in the district.

Though, he visited the primary health centre (PHC) in Kashi Vidyapeeth Block and was kept on medication for the last three months, paucity of funds and the growing need to feed the family (comprising of four children and a wife) has already forced him to withdraw medication. Worse still, the slump in sari industry (based on hand loom weaving) has also pushed him to switch to rickshaw pulling, a labour intensive job that may aggravate the disease.

Interestingly, as the new reports of office of chief medical officer (CMO) has suggested gradual decline in number of TB patients in the district, the increasing cases of spread of the disease in weavers families mainly settled in Lohta, Jaitpura, Bazardiha and Lallapura areas has raised concern.

The number of TB cases has declined from 2693 in 2007 to 2637 in 2008, said Dr RS Verma, CMO while talking to TOI on Thursday. "However, we still have to find ways to restrict the spread of the disease amongst families belonging to weaver's community," he added

As per reports of the CMO office, while the weaver's families constituted more than 50 per cent of TB patients in 2008, the number was restricted to around 40 per cent in 2007.

It may be mentioned here that the slump in Sari business has affected more than one lakh weavers' families that depended upon hand loom weaving in the district.

According to Siddique Hassan, convener of Bunkar Dastkar Adhikar Manch (Forum for Rights of Weavers and Artisans) in the region, the increasing TB cases are directly related with deteriorating plight of weavers families due to slump in their business. The poor nutrition and switching to intensive labour jobs like rickshaw pulling and working at construction sites (brick kilns) are contributing to such cases, he added.

Recently, the BDAM and Peoples Vigilance Committee for Human Rights (PVCHR), another NGO working for weavers in the region in association with Hong Kong based Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) sent a list of 20 weavers to the PM office who suffered from TB and were not witnessing medication due to their conditions.

Also, department of Social and Preventive Medicine under Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS) in Banaras Hindu University found around 75 per cent pre-school children (out of sample of 520 children) with malnutrition in urban slum areas of the city in 2001. The survey report also found 20 per cent children with severe form of malnutrition lacking protein and vitamin A in their diet.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Varanasi/People_still_unaware_of_DOTS_TB_continues_to_spread/articleshow/3984939.cms

Posted by collective at January 19, 2009 09:49 AM

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