Question

Disease Chosen: Tuberculosis in India (500 WORDS PLEASE AND no copy paste)

Task: Clearly describe how two factors have affected/are affecting the disease in this population. Include relevant statistics/epidemiological data to support your report.

Answer 1

Tuberculosis is a communicable Disease caused due to mycobacterium tuberculi which can affect pulmonary and extra pulmonary organs of patients with suppressed immune system which makes them a victim of this disease. As per 2018 statistics, India homes the largest number of patients suffering with TB and as per 2019 statistics, India has largest number of patients with MDR TB Multi drug Resistant Tuberculosis.

The main causes of TB in India is malnutrition, overcrowding, unhygienic living conditions and TB considered as social stigma. The reason of increasing number of death due to TB is non availability of medication, improper diagnosis and treatment, lag of time from initiation of disease to it's treatment, unqualified doctors prescription for TB medications. Inspite of all this, actual number of TB patients is not accounted properly due to shifting of Healthcare services from government sector to private sector.

National strategic plan (NSP) 2017-2025 was setup under RNTCP Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme with an aim of eradication of TB by 2025. However, TB incidence has dropped to 1.7 percent anually.

Improper Diagnosis of TB can worsen a case as it delays the treatment and it can allow the organism to mutate into a MDR TB. Due to untimely diagnosis, treatment delays. Adherence to treatment remains another contributing factor to MDR TB as patients who are on medication don't continue the medications for the duration of 6 months or 12 months prescribed depending on their situation. The government of India has also shown reluctance to adopt a WHO recommended drug Bedaquiline which is the sole treatment bfor MDR TB.

Another inadequacy that increases the burden of TB is healthcare dominated by private sectors who don't keep scrutiny on patients with TB and wrong diagnosis. The Government has started various treatment adherence measure such as DOTS therapy Direct Observation Treatment Short-term in which the public health care providers makes sure that the patient has taken medication. But this therapy is also not very welcomed by patients.

As Government healthcare setups are considered as substandard, the first option that a Patient will go Incase of until symptoms is private sector whereas government sectors are trained specially for prompt and accurate diagnosis of TB and Excel in it's management.

Due to non collaboration between public and private sectors, there is a great Gap in treatment of TB which often go as missing cases and ultimately leading to death.

Various measures that can be adopted to reduce the incidence of TB are

1. Public awareness about TB

2. public awareness about types of services provided under RNTCP and governmental TB scheme

3. Improving accessibility of TB services in private and public sectors

4.integratingTB in private and public sectors

5. Improving and giving confidence among citizens about type of care in public sector.

6. Proper notification and documentation from both private and public sectors which will help in eradication of TB