Most TB patients don’t disclose status

Fearing the social stigma associated with the disease, most TB-positive patients do not disclose their TB status. According to the Indian medical association (IMA), despite TB being a notifiable disease, over 10 lakh TB patients treated in India every year are not reported the disease to the appropriate authorities as per municipal laws and government orders.

The IMA, in association with the central TB division, director general health services (DGHS) and the government has been able to notify 1,04,670 TB patients in the last year. “Most TB-positive patients do not disclose their TB status as they fear the associated social stigma and so keep spreading the disease to others. Over 10 lakh TB patients treated in India every year are not reported to the appropriate authorities. The public needs to be informed that every open sputum case of TB will infect and be responsible for 15 new more cases of TB if not taken care of with early treatment,” said secretary general of the IMA, Dr K.K. Aggarwal.

National president of the IMA, Dr A. Marthanda Pillai, said that not notifying TB is a violation of the medical council of India (MCI) code of medical ethics regulations under Sections 5.2 and 7.14 and can lead to suspension of the licence of the doctor.

The IMA has asked the government to come out with a policy in which a person with sputum-positive TB cases are given paid leave, so that such patients do not hide their illness. In India, 2.1 million new TB cases occur annually and 2,40,000 deaths occur every year due to TB.

“All TB patients are not contagious, but those who are need to be taken care of. IMA’s fight in TB is not limited to notification of TB cases. IMA has sensitised more than one lakh doctors in providing a standard TB regimen in accordance with the standard guidelines,” added Dr Aggarwal.

Dr Pillai has appealed to 2.5 lakh doctors associated with the IMA to notify each and every TB patient and the same can be done through IMA’s website.