There should be adequate measures of creating awareness among public in general to face the existing challenges of Multi Drug Resistance (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) as its consequences are very dangerous, health and TB experts said.They viewed there is no alternative to concerted efforts to check the contagious disease as all the MDR TB patients always breed more than
other identical category of patients through quick transmission.Dr Monirul Haque, Superintendent of Chest Disease Hospital, said the existing indoor facilities are limited to manage the patients with MDR TB because of its very high treatment cost.Dr Shamsuddin Mondal, Consultant of Damien Foundation, defined that MDR TB is caused by an organism that is resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampin, the two most potent TB drugs. These drugs are used to treat all persons with TB disease.He added that resistance to anti-TB drugs can occur when these drugs are misused or mismanaged, patients do not complete their full course of treatment, health-care providers prescribe the wrong treatment, the wrong dose, or length of time for taking the drugs, when the supply of drugs is not always available, or the drugs are of poor quality.Dr Mondal said drug-susceptible TB and drug-resistant TB are spread in the same way. TB bacteria are put into the air when a person with TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, sneezes, speaks, or sings.
These bacteria can float in the air for several hours, depending on the environment.Persons who breathe in the air containing these TB bacteria can become infected. He noted that the field level healthcare providers have a vital role to play to control the disease through referring the suspected patients to the chest disease hospital for their proper diagnosis and treatment.Dr KM Ashraf Uz Zaman, Divisional Director of Health, said health care
providers can help prevent MDR TB by quickly diagnosing cases,following recommended treatment guidelines, monitoring patients’ response to treatment and making sure that therapy is completed. -BSS, Rajshahi
