NEW DELHI - India’s inadequate government-run tuberculosis treatment programs and a lack of regulation of the sale of drugs that fight it are responsible for the spiraling number of drug-resistant cases that are difficult to treat, health activists said.
India adds an estimated 99,000 cases of drug-resistant TB every year, but only a fraction of those infected get the proper drugs to treat the stubborn disease through a government-funded program. Saturday marks World Tuberculosis Day.
The original form of the disease can be easily cured by taking antibiotics for six to nine months. But if that treatment is interrupted or the dose is cut, the bacteria battle back by mutating into a tougher strain that can no longer be killed by standard drugs making it harder and more expensive to treat.
The easy availability of TB drugs in the private market and casual over-the-counter sale of antibiotics is fueling the development of drug resistance, said Piero Gandini, head of Doctors Without Borders in India.
“There is an urgent need for regulatory control of sale and administration of TB drugs in the private sector,’’ he said.
Patients also turn to private doctors who often do not know how to properly treat TB.