Mumbai: Miracle drug for TB increases recovery rate to 70 per cent in 3 years

BMC had introduced life-saving drug in 2018 and so far it has been given to 4,273 TB patients in city

A review of the miracle drug — Bedaquiline — for multi-drug resistant TB patients, has revealed that its inclusion in the treatment procedure has increased the recovery rate from 40 per cent to 70 per cent over the past three years. The BMC had introduced this life-saving drug in 2018 and so far it has been given to 4,273 TB patients in Mumbai.  

“Earlier, before we introduced Bedaquiline in our treatment regime, the recovery rate of multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) patients was between 40 and 50 per cent, which now stands at 70 per cent. It has proved that by following the prescribed treatment course along with having a nutritious diet, TB can be cured,” said Dr Praneeta Tipre, head of Mumbai TB Control Room.

Doctors say the number of MDR patients in the city has increased over the last few years because patients have been irregular in taking medicines, completing the treatment course and not having nutritious food. Bedaquiline is used in treating MDR-TB patients who are resistant to the most powerful anti-TB drugs such as Rifampicin, Isoniazid and others.  The biggest strength of Bedaquiline is that it can be taken orally. Just like Delamanid, Bedaquiline can only be procured through government TB centres.

Mumbai is considered to have a quarter of the world’s drug-resistant TB patients. According to data, the city has around 5,000 drug-resistant TB patients, out of which 600 have extensive drug-resistance. 

“In the last couple of years, 45,000 to 50,000 new TB patients have been diagnosed. A significant number of these new patients are MDR-TB. We are happy that Bedaquiline was introduced for the treatment of such patients and it has shown positive results and given us hope,” said a BMC official.

In 2018, 5,594 MDR patients were detected in Mumbai, followed by 5,673 in 2019, 4,367 in 2020 and 1,224 till March 2021. In 2020, 99,668 people were tested for TB, out of which 17,000 patients were diagnosed with the disease. This year, till August, 73,893 tests have been undertaken, out of which 14,198 patients have been diagnosed with TB.

4,367
No. of people diagnosed with TB in 2020

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