The COVID-19 pandemic has severely hampered health workers’ efforts to eradicate tuberculosis from India. In fact, it has made things worse. Here’s how!
Written by Editorial Board Updated: March 27, 2022 7:01 p.m. IST By 2020, India, like the rest of the world, is battling the Covid-19 pandemic that has put almost the entire global healthcare system in crisis. This pandemic not only destroyed current health care systems, but also effectively undermined the progress made by some medical institutions, preventing them from achieving their goals of eradicating certain diseases and conditions. The diagnosis of infectious disorders, such as HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria, has been severely hampered by Covid-19. Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most serious public health problems in India. It is responsible for about one third of all tuberculosis cases worldwide. India had set a goal of eradicating the disease by 2025, five years before the global deadline. However, as hospitals focused on Covid care, the pandemic cut off care and diagnosis.
Tuberculosis The second worst infectious disease, misdiagnosis worsens
Among the diseases whose eradication process changed course, tuberculosis emerged as the worst affected of all. Due to the new coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19), some countries have seen significant setbacks in their efforts to eradicate tuberculosis by 2020. India has borne the brunt of the damage. The World Health Organization (WHO) World Report on Tuberculosis, published in October 2021, noted that countries such as the Philippines, India and Indonesia have been hit hard. After Covid-19, it is the deadliest infectious disease in the world. If detected correctly and as early as possible, tuberculosis is curable and preventable. Misdiagnosis, on the other hand, continues to be a major issue. Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which usually affects the lungs, causes tuberculosis. When people with pulmonary tuberculosis cough or sneeze, the germs are propelled into the air and transported by tiny droplets. By inhaling just a few of these germs, a person could become infected. Although TB control and diagnosis technologies have improved in recent decades, many people remain undiagnosed. The greatest impact was reportedly observed in terms of diagnosis and localization. The limited availability of diagnostic facilities due to the pandemic and the numerous restrictions introduced to limit the disease, a huge number of cases had not been diagnosed and reported. Due to the significant reduction in TB diagnoses in 2020 compared to previous years, the gap between the number of people diagnosed with the disease and the number of new people diagnosed had widened significantly since 2020. According to the survey, The gap is estimated to be over 4 million cases.
The need to eradicate tuberculosis from India
Tuberculosis was one of the leading causes of death in the world by 2020. It is now expected to be the second leading cause, only after COVID-19, due to the huge failures. According to reports, the number of people diagnosed with drug-resistant TB receiving treatment fell by 15 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year. On the other hand, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensive drug-resistant tuberculosis remained stable. When anti-tuberculosis drugs are taken incorrectly, drug resistance develops. It can also happen if people are prescribed low-quality drugs or if they stop treatment too soon. MDR-TB is a type of TB caused by microorganisms that are resistant to major first-line TB drugs. It is still curable and curable, according to the WHO, with the use of second-line treatment drugs. According to the WHO, disruptions in the treatment of Covid-19-related tuberculosis could lead to an additional half a million deaths from tuberculosis. Even today, most people are unaware of the extent of the TB epidemic. In order for India to truly eradicate tuberculosis by 2025, epidemiologists are recommending increasing early detection using low-cost diagnostics. Most importantly, people from low-income neighborhoods should have free access to treatment, counseling, and TB care. (Article by Dr Suresh A, Consultant, Pulmonologist, SIMS Hospital, Chennai)
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