The wait for a faster and a more economical testing method for suspected tuberculosis cases may finally be over.
The state health department will soon launch a new testing device, called Gene X-pert, which can generate a TB-test report within two hours. To be launched as part of a pilot study at the Sion hospital healthcentre at Dharavi from May, Gene X-pert will also greatly reduce the cost of the test when compared to those available with private laboratories and hospitals.
As of now, TB detection using sputum samples takes at least three days, while in case of multi-drug resistance this period may extend even up to two or three months. Not so with Gene X-pert, whose portability, medical experts say, will prove a boon for rural areas, where villagers must travel miles to access healthcare.
While the health department has decided to train lab technicians and concerned doctors before launching the new test, the experts are also relieved that better management will go a long way in preventing the multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB).
For, MDRTB, which is often a result of poor management of TB patients, is the most common opportunistic infection among HIV-positive persons.
“To be started with help of a Delhi-based NGO, the new device will be valuable in starting TB treatment on a priority basis. Once the pilot at the Dharavi centre is successful, the device will be installed in all hospitals” said joint director Dr PY Gaikwad of the state health department.
It was only after the discovery of 11 cases of XXDR-TB (extensive drugs resistance TB) in the city that the centre and the state medical authorities began taking serious initiatives towards tackling the TB menace, which is one of the leading causes of mortality in India. The disease claims two persons every three minutes, nearly 1,000 daily.
