Health experts at a views-sharing meeting have asked the freedom fighters for creating awareness in indentifying tuberculosis patients and bringing them under cost free treatment facilities to eradicate the curable disease.
National Anti-Tuberculosis Association of Bangladesh (NATAB) organised the meeting on ‘Role of freedom fighters in launching social movement for preventing tuberculosis’ on Sunday at the conference room of District Muktijoddha Complex Building in the city.With district NATAB member and valiant freedom fighter Akbar Hossain in the chair, Senior Consultant of the Medicine and Chest Disease Department of Rangpur Medical College and Hospital Dr Minhazul Islam attended as the main resource person.Junior Consultant of Tazhat Chest Disease Hospital in Rangpur Dr Mohammad Farhad Hossain participated as the main discussant.District unit Commander of Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangshad Mosaddek Hossain Bablu, its Deputy Commanders and valiant freedom fighters Golam Mostafa, Motiar Rahman and Moksedur Rahman Chowdhury also addressed the meeting. A large number of freedom fighters from all over the district participated in the views-sharing meeting coordinated by Rangpur Regional Representative of NATAB Monwar Hossain.
Dr Minhazul Islam presented the main keynote paper narrating the reasons behind tuberculosis infection, its prevention, treatment process and available cost-free treatment facilities. He blamed illiteracy, social superstitions and fear and lack of knowledge as the main reasons behind tuberculosis infection and narrated the prevention procedure and available free treatment facilities throughout the country.He discussed on symptoms of tuberculosis infection, multi drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), extremely drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) and functioning of GeneXpert machine in diagnosing drug resistant tuberculosis and treatment process.He also narrated on micro-bacterial tuberculosis (MTB), anti-tuberculosis drug refampicin and examination process of sputum of suspected patients using computerized GeneXpert machine available at Tazhat Chest Disease Hospital laboratory in Rangpur.Dr Mohammad Farhad Hossain narrated the government strategies for controlling tuberculosis and stressed for creating mass public awareness to detect tuberculosis patients for bringing them under cost-free treatments facilities. The speakers called upon the freedom fighters for creating mass social awareness on quick cough test, preventive vaccines and full course intake of essential medicines without interruptions for eradicating the curable tuberculosis disease. They suggested the participants for motivating tuberculosis patients to complete the treatment dose adopting the cost- free Direct Observe Treatment Short Course methods and medicines to free the country the curable disease. –BSS, Rangpur
