Soon, drug resistant TB patients in Rajasthan will get two costly drugs free of cost. Health Minister Kalicharan Saraf said that two drugs, namely bedaquiline and delamanid that have proved successful in treatment of Multiple Drug Resistant (MDR) TB and Extensively Drug Resistant (XDR) TB patients in western countries will be introduced in India and in a couple of months these drugs will be available free of cost to MDR TB and XTR TB patients at all the six government medical colleges in Rajasthan.
“These medicines are very costly,”Dr Narendra Khippal, Senior Professor, Institute of Respiratory Diseases, Sawai Man Singh Medical College said. “Six month course of bedaquiline and delamanid will costs Rs 1 lakh and Rs 58,000 respectively.These two drugs bedaquiline and delamanid will prove effective in treating drug resistant TB. These medicines will be given to India on donation for a year,”said Dr Khippal.
“It is very important that people who have TB disease are treated, finish the medicine, and take the drugs exactly as prescribed,” Dr Shubhranshu, TB specialist at Narayana Hospital said. “If they stop taking the drugs too soon, they can become sick again. If they do not take the drugs correctly, the TB bacteria that are still alive may become resistant to those drugs,”he added.
