M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Oct 12: WHO Consultant Tuberculosis, drug-resistant TB (roster) Ranchi Dr Rajeev Ranjan Pathak has asked members of the family, where there are any lung TB patients, to be on guard against the ‘latent TB infection’.
Dr Pathak said those families who live with lung TB patients, share things and spend long hours with them, must adopt preventive therapy for the latent TB infection which is as simple as one can imagine.
“Three tablets once a week for 12 weeks are be taken of Isoniazid, Rifapentine and vitamin as part of this therapy,” said the WHO Consultant TB.
According to the Palamu district TB officer Dr Anil Kumar Srivastav, there are 1,924 TB patients here who live with their families. “It is their family members whom we are to save from the latent TB infection,” he said.
However, he added, “Lungs TB patients are more to cause latent TB infection by way of their coughing, sneezing or spitting etc. Families which have patients with extra lung or extra-pulmonary TB are not at risk of latent TB infection as those who are in contact with pulmonary TB patients.
Dr Pathak said members of the family where there is a case of lung TB show reluctance to take preventive therapy for the latent TB infection saying they are fit and fine and don’t need ‘unnecessary medication.’
The WHO Consultant said this preventive therapy is not unnecessary, rather it is essential to ward off the latent TB infection.
Dr Srivastav said only nails, hair and cornea are the body parts where TB does not strike, otherwise, patients suffer from bone, liver, lungs and many other kinds of TB.
As per information, three members of a family of TB lungs patient have begun taking preventive therapy for the latent TB infection in Daltonganj.
