Tuberculosis threat

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NEARLY 85 per cent of treated cases of TB in this country, according to reports in the media, have led to cure. This is the brighter side. But the worrying aspect is that over 50 per cent of TB afflicted persons do not probably know that they have the disease. They may become aware of it at a later stage after they have spread it among otherwise healthy persons. Thus, it is so very important that awareness about the disease should be created among people through more publicities in the mass media and other forms of communication campaigns. In many cases, many patients in this country experience a relapse of the sickness after finding some relief from it from treatment. This is because they become confident after some recovery following treatment and do not realise that they must complete the full course of treatment to be completely cured. Therefore, the publicities need to make people also conscious.
Normally, tuberculosis is the result of poor diets and unhygienic living conditions. Poverty and the consequent malnutrition make people more vulnerable to TB than anything else. If people can be made aware that they should eat regularly cheap or inexpensive foods which nonetheless have nutritive value, then they can be reasonably safeguarded from the disease. They should be also advised to make their modest dwellings as much hygienic and ventilated, as possible, to ward off the disease. Then, it is found that smokers with weakened respiratory systems are more prone to catching the disease than non-smokers. Thus, all of these factors -- the necessity of proper nutrition and hygiene combined with non-smoking -- should be highlighted in the mass media to build up a preventive environment to work as barriers to TB.
Shahnaz Begum
Eskaton, Dhaka