World Tuberculosis Day 2014: 6 strategies to overcome challenges in TB treatment

Here's what experts believe should be done about overcoming challenges in TB treatment.

March 24 is the World Tuberculosis Day

Having spoken about the main challenges facing treatment of tuberculosis in India, we now discuss what can be done to improve the current situation.

According to Dr Pradip Shah, consultant physician at Fortis Hospital, Mulund, we need more government interventions to overcome the challenges. He mentions that government agencies should focus on increasing awareness about transmission of drug resistant, latent TB bacteria. Here are some key points that he highlighted.

1. Encourage good hygiene practices: Simple hygiene practices like covering the mouth while coughing and sneezing, avoiding spitting in public places are not followed by people, including those infected with TB. This increases the risk of transmission of drug resistant TB to a great extent. There should increased awareness about hazards of transmission of drug resistant TB with better focus on hygiene practices in TB patients.

2. Explore new drugs: Dr Shah also mentions that the government should explore the possibility of newer promising drugs. 'The recent case, where a TB patient was treated with anti-leprosy drug is a good opportunity for us. Our government should look into the potential of anti-leprosy drugs in treatment of drug resistant cases of TB and make it available for everyone,' he says.

3. Need for National Programmes: We need a stringent protocol for diagnosis and treatment of TB. With that we can have more programmes aimed at controlling TB on a national level.

According to leading pulmonologist Dr Kapil Salgia, creating awareness and eliminating the stigma associated with TB is the prime concern to overcome challenges in TB treatment. He also spoke about overcoming challenges in TB treatment from the perspective of research. Here are some key points that he highlighted:

4. Specialized care: Apart from encouraging patient counseling, healthcare should also focus on having the right kind of specialists to treat the disease.

5. Cost-effective drugs: Right now the complete cost of TB treatment is somewhere around Rs 5000 to 7000 per month. Because every patient is not able to afford the treatment, they either stop the treatment or switch to lower quality of drugs which might not provide relief. Hence, both TB drugs and diagnostic tests should be made affordable at all levels, without compromising the quality.

6. Drug development: From research point of view, drug development should focus on reducing the duration of treatment. Probably, a drug which can be taken as a single dose can help in increased patient compliance to treatment.

You may also like to read:

• World Tuberculosis Day 2014: Revolutionary medicine doctor treats MDR-TB patients with leprosy drugs
• World Tuberculosis Day 2014 common diagnostic tests for tuberculosis explained
• World Tuberculosis Day 2014: Tuberculosis causes, symptoms and diagnosis
• Ten facts you didn't know about tuberculosis
• How you can prevent tuberculosis
• Revolutionary medicine doctor treats MDR-TB patients with leprosy drugs
• Drug-resistant TB on the rise in India
• How India's faring in the battle against TB
• Extremely drug resistant TB rearing its head in India

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