TB a ticking time bomb for Mumbai, reveals data

If the data by a city based diagnostic centre is anything to go by, then there may be reason to worry when it comes to tuberculosis cases. Among the 4,917 samples screened at the centre in the past six months, 33% tested positive for the disease.

Dr Ajay Phadke, centre head at SRL Diagnostics Ltd said, “We have three GeneXpert machines (a test done to find out drug resistant form of tuberculosis in two hours). On an average, we conduct 50-80 tests. It is startling to find that 33% of the samples we tested in the last six months were positive for tuberculosis.”

Presently, Mumbai has six GeneXpert machines in public healthcare, and more than eight in the private sector.

The doctor added that among the 1,613 samples tested positive, 10% were found to be multi-drug resistant TB. This, Dr Phadke said, 'is definitely a reason to worry'. “Being an air-borne disease, TB has the propensity to spread and impact a large percentage of not only the healthy population, but has also been fatal for several doctors treating the disease at government hospitals,” he added.

Health experts say every Mumbaikar needs to take special care to ensure they do not contract the disease, which has been termed by the World Health Organisation as 'the greatest killer' after HIV/AIDS.

As per the figures available from BMC, around 33,000 TB patients, including 3,000 MDR (multi-drug resistant) and 300 XDR (extensive drug resistant) cases are on monitored medication, boosting their chances of recovery.

Dr Yatin Dholakia, secretary of Maharashtra State Anti-TB Association, said that tuberculosis bacilli infection progresses to a full fledged disease only when the person's immunity is low. “Women have their own dieting concepts and don't consult doctors. The nutritional level drops in such a diet course, thereby leading to low immunity levels,” he said.

He added that TB cases are rampantly seen in Mumbai. “There are 220-250 TB cases in per lakh general population in Mumbai. The overcrowding is also a major problem that has increased the chances of infection,” said Dr Dholakia.

Agreeing with Dr Dholakia, Dr Om Srivastava, infectious disease consultant in South Mumbai said that there is 'definitely a clear association' between nutritional status of the person and TB. “The total amount of protein, albumin, intake determines our immune system. Having only junk food and dieting skews up nutritional levels, and chances of getting multiple infections along with TB are therefore greater,” he said.

While TB usually affects the lungs, it can infect the kidneys, bones, spine, brain and other parts of the body too. Dr Jalil Parker, chest physician at Lilavati Hospital said: “A person can have the TB bacteria but may not have the disease because of a strong immune system which is able to fight the bacteria, causing them to become inactive. The illness may occur shortly after the bacteria enters the body, or many years later, when the immunity falls.”

Dr Parker added that the disease is curable if diagnosed early and treated effectively. “A course of anti-tuberculosis medicine is prescribed, which usually lasts 6 months. A patient should ensure medicines are taken on time to avoid drug resistance,” he added.

Common symptoms of the disease

A cough that lasts more than three weeks

Always feeling tired

Loss of appetite

Unexplained weight loss

Fever

Night sweats