Doctors sound TB alarm

Nadira Gunatilleke

There is a danger of a rapid spread of Tuberculosis (TB) in Sri Lanka due to 3,000 undetected TB patients living and moving freely in the country without receiving treatment, According to WHO, annually 13,000 TB patients needs to be detected in Sri Lanka but the state hospital network detects only 10,000 TB patients, specialist doctors said.

Addressing a seminar at the Health Education Bureau on Monday in connection with World TB Day falls on March 24 every year the specialist doctors said that this year’s theme of the World TB day is ‘stop TB in my life time’. The Global Fund will offer 5.7 million USD to Sri Lanka this year for TB control activities. Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara and Ratnapura are the worst affected areas. High population density and polluted air are the main reasons for the rise in TB in these areas. TB bacteria is in all human beings living in the third world countries but it gets activated in human beings with weak immunity systems. HIV positive persons have a greater risk of developing TB and dying of the same disease.

TB bacteria can affect any organ in the body such as bones, brain, kidneys, womb etc. TB is a curable disease. TB does not spread through a TB patient who follows the relevant treatment plan on medical advice, they said. Cough last for more than two weeks, weight lose, loosing appetite, fever and sweating at night, tiredness, pain in the chest and coughing blood are some of the main symptoms of TB, they added.