Kohima, March 26 (MExN): On World TB Day, the Governor of Nagaland and Assam PB Acharya has appealed to all concerned departments, civil society, NGOs, student organisations, etc. to create awareness and ‘Unite to End TB.’
“People must know that it is a completely curable disease at very low-cost through the DOTS treatment administered by the government. Its treatments and diagnostic tests should be accessible by each and every person affected by the tuberculosis all over the world and death rate of this disease should be brought to zero,” Acharya said in a message on World TB Day.
He said that World Tuberculosis Day is celebrated at international level on March 24 to raise the common public awareness about the epidemic disease of tuberculosis as well as get their efforts in order to totally eradicate this disease. Tuberculosis, or TB, is an infectious bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs. It is transmitted from person to person via droplets from the throat and lungs of people with the disease.
The Governor added that India is considered as one of the highest TB-burdened countries accounting for one-fifth of the global incidence. Each year 2.2 million people develop TB in India and an estimated 2,20,000 people expire due to the disease which is mostly caused due to lack of awareness and timely treatment. Studies reveal that five percent of TB patients die in North East annually.
“These data clearly indicate that we need to take more steps to eradicate this killing ailment from the world,” Acharya added.
