M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Jan 25: Covid-19 pandemic has taken a big toll on anti TB drugs in India, according to official sources.
Anti TB drugs in the Central TB division of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, are lying in huge amounts in forms of tablets, injections and capsules. There is least hope of these drugs to be utilized within their shelf life (read date of expiry).
The drugs include cycloserine 250 mg tabs, ethionamide 125 mg tabs and 250mg tabs, ethambutol 400 mg tabs and 800 mg tabs, pyrazinamide 400 mg and 150 mg tabs and kanamycin 1gram injection vials.
A letter of deputy director general of central TB division Dr Rajendra P Joshi corroborates that the stock of anti TB drugs has piled up just because of its less utilization due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Lagatar English has a copy of Joshi’s letter with it.
Joshi has sent his letter dated January 24, 2022 to all the states and union territories’ TB officers.
He has asked them to ‘donate’ their respective stock of these anti TB drugs to medical colleges and hospitals, state and central hospitals, AIIMS, railway hospitals, defense hospitals and other medical centers before their shelf life ends or expires.
Joshi has asked the official to explore the possibility of the utilization of the anti TB drugs for a maximum potential use of it.
Jharkhand state TB officer Dr Ranjit Prasad confirmed to have received such a letter from the deputy director general of Central TB division.
“Jharkhand has cycloserine caps and kanamycin vials in huge numbers. We have changed the regime of treatment of the TB and as such kanamycin injection has been sidelined here,” said Dr Ranjit Prasad.
However, Dr Ranjit said these two medicines are antibiotics and can be put to use.
“We can donate these drugs to private hospitals too with a rider that these private hospitals will not charge patients for these medicines like cycloserine and kanamycin as we will be giving them all free,” Dr. Ranjit added.
However, he said that he can’t tell exactly how large the stock of anti TB drugs is here in a state whose shelf life is at stake.
