A CALL TO ACTION AGAINST TUBERCULOSIS

Astaggering 2.8 million people in India have tuberculosis (TB). The government has set a target of 2025, against the global target of 2030, for eliminating the disease from the country. The biggest challenge, say experts, is a lack of awareness. People don’t know they might have it, so they don’t get tested, and spread it to more people who don’t recognise the early signs.

The other problem is that treatment can take years, many patients don’t have the time or patience to see it through, and so they stop the drug regimen and hospital visits, and get sicker, while also spreading the disease once again.

Experience shows that the best way to reach out is through people who have survived the disease. …India’s Ticking Time Bomb does just this, also offering detailed guidelines and recommendations on tackling diagnosis, treatment and stigma.

In her introduction, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, deputy director general of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and a TB expert, writes, “If we wish to address and end tuberculosis in India, we must begin by focusing on the common interests of all affected by TB — individuals, families, community and society as a whole… The best way to understand [how to do] this is by listening to them. Hence, this critically important surivors’ manifesto.”

The book has anecdotes from six survivors, who talk about their diagnosis, issues arising from drug-resistant TB, challenges they face as a result of stigma.

Deepti Chavan, a TB survivor-turnededucator, tells of her struggle with multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB since age 16. How lack of awareness and improper diagnosis led to half a lung being surgically removed.

“Doctors rarely suspect [MDR TB]… In numerous cases, the degree of resistance is exacerbated due to incorrect treatment,” she says.

This book is more than a patient manifesto, though. It educates people, and does it the right way, with sensitivity and nuance. As Dr Swaminathan puts it, “It is a call to action against TB.”