It
is 115 years since the causative organism of tuberculosis was discovered by Dr.
Robert Kochi to be exact on 24th March 1882 when presented a most
comprehensive paper before a select gathering of scientists at Berlin and it was
not untill 1943 that Selman Waxman discovered Streptomycin injection the first
scientific drug in the armanenterian of chemotherapy of T.B its fifty years
since Pakistan came into being and no less a preson than the founder of this
wonderful nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah died of tuberculosis but Alas
! we in Pakistan are still far from controlling this white scourge nay not
control but are still groping in the dark though W.H.O has inunciated a clear
cut policy for Tuberculosis control but we lack political will and resource.
Since sixties several T.B control progammes formulated but never implemented
sindcerely most of these were took off from the ground even though drugs to
control tuberculosis are available and if prescribed adequately and taken
properly in a specific short course, Tuberculosis can still be cured. But
unfortunately in our country neither these are prescribed properly by most
doctors nor taken by patient so regularly resulting in not only it increase in
the number of tuberculosis cases but worse still the Tubercle Bacilli become
resistant to these available anti T.B drugs resulting in multi-drug resistant (MDR)
tuberculosis and what with advent of new disease ie. HIV/AIDS (Auto-immune
Defeciency Syndrome) which exacerbate latent tuberculosis and especially with
multi-drug resistant tuberculosis escalating the situation may get out of hand
as it had done in many African countries where AIDS has worsened
The
already huge load of existing tuberculosis cases even in the industrialized
advanced countries where they thought they had conquered tuberculosis it has
returned with a vengeance after the AIDS epidemic and that too with a multi-
drug- resistant disease but they have the
Resources
and will to control it and they have shown it in bringing down tuberculosis
rates especially in New York City.
In
Pakistan, which is celebrating its Golden Jubilee this year the national
tuberculosis programme is in disarray due to carelessness, neglect,
indifference, lack of resolve without any central authority on tuberculosis
control. Our only salvation lies in adopting a simple and highly effective cure
provided by DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Short-course) which involves
health care workers or responsible family members watching patients take each
dose of medicine for the first two months or ideally for 6-8 months. We must act
now as we have already wasted lot of time.