Afro FM 105.3: Incurable TB in India kills three

Incurable TB in India kills three
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Henok  on 19/01/2012 08:30:00
 
Concern over drug-resistant strains of the infection is growing, with similar
'incurable' TB forms already emerging in Italy and Iran. BBC reports that
Doctors in Mumbai said 12 patients had a "totally drug resistant" form of the
disease. None have been successfully treated for their illness, and three have
died. TB is one of the world's biggest killers, second only to HIV among
infectious diseases. Normally a patient with TB is given a six to nine month
course of antibiotics to eradicate it. However, new strains of the bacterium
have developed which are increasingly resistant to the antibiotics most commonly
used to treat it.
Partially drug-resistant TB can now be found in countries across the world, and
"multi-drug resistant" strains affect countries such as Russia and China. The
Indian reports will fuel concerns over the ability of doctors to contain the
disease in years to come. The doctors at the Hinduja National Hospital in Mumbai
who discovered it said they had treated patients for up to two years with a
battery of drugs, to no avail. ­­­They said the patients came from slum areas
of the city, where close contact between people meant further spread was likely.
The American Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed that the Indian strain
did appear to be completely resistant.
The BBC quoted Dr Ruth Mcnerney, a senior lecturer at the London School of
Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a trustee of charity TB Alert as saying that
the new cases represented a "serious threat" to global efforts to control TB.
She said the high prevalence of TB in India, coupled with high population
density within its cities, meant that the new type of TB could be a bigger
problem than previous "totally resistant" strains.
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that usually affects the lungs. It is
transmitted via droplets from the lungs of people with the active form of the
disease. Symptoms of TB include coughing, chest pains, weakness, weight loss,
fever and night sweats. Tuberculosis is usually treatable with a course of
antibiotics. (BBC)