Rafiullah Mandokhail;
ZHOB: Tuberculosis – a curable but potentially fatal if not treated properly, is spreading at an alarming rate in bordering district Zhob. Annually more than one thousand TB patients are being reported in the area. But the entire area depends upon one TB center that provides treatment to patients suffering from the disease including those coming from neighboring districts and Pak-Afghan border areas.
Dr. Akhter Mandokhail, head of the TB control program said that the disease is curable, preventable and treatable with an eight-month course – DOTS. The disease cannot be diagnosed merely by chest X-ray but the results should be further verified by a sputum examination, he said.
Highlighting the DOTS strategy he said that it is very effective in treating TB, but escaping DOTS generally develop another serious type of TB that is called multi-drug resistant MDR-TB, he added.
Child Specialist at civil hospital Dr. Niamatullah Mandokhail said that lack of awareness, non availability of healthcare facilities and poverty keeps people away from hospitals. “Illiteracy, lack of awareness, scattered population, little access to hospitals, non-availability of basic health services and unhygienic environment are the key factors behind the spread of the disease that needs mass awareness about the disease”. He said. Tuberculosis – an infectious bacterial disease is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis that most often affect the human lungs. But if untreated it spreads to other parts of the body including bones. It is transmitted from person to person, when people with lungs TB cough, sneeze or spit and propel the germs into the air. TB patients can infect 15-20 other people through close contact. “Poverty, increasing population, lack of civic amenities and malnutrition are basic causes of tuberculosis”, he said.