Call for joint efforts to eradicate tuberculosis

A jatha being taken out in Mysuru to mark World Tuberculosis Day.
| Photo Credit: M.A. Sriram

Terming tuberculosis as an infectious disease that spreads from one person to another, health officials have called for joint efforts to eradicate the disease through early identification and appropriate treatment.

Addressing a gathering in the city on Monday to mark World Tuberculosis Day, Joint Director of Health, Mysuru, K.H. Prasad said India has been fighting against tuberculosis since Independence. However, if the tuberculosis patients are identified and given proper treatment, a tuberculosis-free India can be built, he said.

An awareness jatha was taken out from the North Gate of Mysuru Palace to J.K. Grounds as part of World Tuberculosis Day organised jointly by Mysuru district administration, zilla panchayat, District Health and Family Welfare Department, District Tuberculosis Control Centre, National Tuberculosis Eradication Centre, and Mysore Medical College and Research Institute.

Students of various nursing schools, doctors, nurses, and volunteers, besides officials from the Department of Health and Family Welfare, participated in the jatha, which passed through D. Devaraj Urs Road before reaching J.K. Grounds.

Addressing the gathering at the auditorium at J.K. Grounds, Dr. Prasad emphasised the need for a mass movement to create tuberculosis-free villages. He cautioned people that tuberculosis was a dangerous and contagious disease that posed an overwhelming threat to the entire country.

He called upon the government, health department officials, doctors, medical fraternity as well as the public to work jointly to eradicate tuberculosis.

Medical Superintendent of K.R. Hospital H.P. Shobha emphasised the importance of students’ involvement in the eradication of tuberculosis. She called upon the students to identify tuberculosis patients or individuals showing symptoms in their villages and neighbourhoods and immediately refer them to nearby hospitals.

Meanwhile, several gram panchayats in H.D. Kote, Saragur, Hunsur, K.R. Nagar, Periyapatna, Nanjangud, and T. Narsipur taluk were awarded for becoming tuberculosis-free gram panchayats.

Mysuru district health officer P.C. Kumaraswamy, District Tuberculosis Control Officer M.S. Jayanth, Reproductive and Child Health Officer Siraj Ahmed, Tuberculosis Project Officer Raman Arora, and others were also present on the occasion.