TN to offer short-course therapy to avert spread of TB among close contacts

Chennai: The state launched a programme to offer free short-course therapy for the prevention of tuberculosis among close contacts of patients with the bacterial infection.

The two drugs, which must be taken once a week for three months, reduce the risk of disease and help officials reduce the monitoring period from 180 days with conventional therapy although it costs ten times more than the conventional therapy.

The programme was launched by health minister Ma Subramanian while releasing the state's strategic plan 2.0 for the elimination of tuberculosis by 2025. The infectious disease that most often affects the lungs is caused by a type of bacteria. It spreads through the air when infected people cough, sneeze or spit.

"About a quarter of the global population is estimated to have been infected with TB bacteria. But the disease is preventable and curable," he said. To achieve TB Free status by 2025, Tamil Nadu must bring down the incidence of the infection to 40/one lakh population in high-burden cities such as Chennai and to 10/one lakh population in low-burden districts such as the Nilgiris by 2025, he said.

So far, the state offered a drug that a patient relative must have every day for six months. Volunteers and healthcare workers found it tough to monitor them, and the high dropouts made preventive therapy ineffective.

Now, the health department will give a pack of Isoniazid and Rifapentine (300mg each) to close contact and they must take it once a week for three months. The drug costs '1500, nearly 10 times the cost of the drug the government day for the 180 days course, but it will reduce chances of dropouts and make it easy for follow-ups. Tamil Nadu is the first state to procure drugs under the central programme and distribute them, the minister said. The drugs were purchased by the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation.

He also launched facilities to check for drug-resistant TB in newly diagnosed patients at the medical college hospitals in Trichy and Coimbatore. The facility was available only in Madurai and Chennai. "Samples were sent from across the state to labs in these cities. This delayed the turn around time. New labs will change this," he said.