Tuberculosis is a disease that has plagued mankind for millennia. In this piece for Scroll.in, Dr Lancelot Pinto, Visiting Senior Fellow, Artha Global, posits that humans have never been in a stronger position to eradicate tuberculosis than they are today.
Excerpts below:
“The past two decades have witnessed tremendous scientific leaps in the fight against tuberculosis. Molecular tests have now made a point-of-care diagnosis possible within hours, including the diagnosis of multidrug resistant tuberculosis. The accuracy of such tests has been constantly improving, with genomic sequencing likely to refine this further, making diagnosis both rapid and accurate.”
“There is the need for broad commitment to ensure that every possible patient is traced, provided free, high-quality diagnosis and treatment, and to ensure that such care reaches the last mile. […] Even today, most Indians remain uninformed about tuberculosis. Contrast this with Covid-19, where effective awareness led to behaviour change, increased testing, and prudent infection control measures. Can’t this be done for tuberculosis?”
Read the full article here,
