Islamabad - Health expert on the occasion of World Tuberculosis day (TB) stressed on creating adequate social awareness through coordinated efforts to eradicate the curable disease of tuberculosis.  

Prof Dr Talha Mahmood Talking to a news channel he further said TB infection remains endemic in the country, but greater awareness, timely reporting of symptoms, timely treatment and completion of treatment can help prevent the spread of the disease. TB is a 100 per cent curable disease and the government is providing free of cost treatment to the patients throughout the country, he mentioned. He also elaborated the delay in diagnosis, poor follow up and lack of social support programme for high risk populations are some of the reasons for not reaching the target cure rates and emergence of drug resistant forms of Tuberculosis. “Patients should do follow-up visits to ensure that they have fully recovered from TB, he said.  Dr Talha further highlighted many people still don’t know that TB treatment is available for free. “They hide their disease and don’t take medicine after a few visits to private hospitals”. Professor explained Pakistan ranks fourth amongst TB high burden countries worldwide and the disease can be termed as one of the major public health problems in the country. TB is spread from person to person through air. When infectious TB patients cough, sneeze, talk, spit, they propel TB germs into the air.

TB is not spread through casual contact, utensils, eating together, shaking hands, sharing clothes, bed sheets, books, furniture, marital relations and it is not an inherited disease, he said. Dr said the main symptoms of disease are persistent cough for more than three weeks, low grade fever, coughing up blood, night sweats, loss of appetite and weight and feeling of tiredness all the time. If somebody has these symptoms, he or she should report to the nearest Health Centre, Government Hospital or TB centre and get his sputum tested free of cost. Talha Mahmood said if somebody is diagnosed with TB, he or she should not get upset, because TB is now treatable with six months course of antibiotics, but the current efforts to find, treat, and cure everyone who gets ill with the disease are not sufficient. TB patient can lead an active normal life after receiving full course of treatment, he concluded.