World TB Day 2011 falling on 24 March is geared to step up global awareness about the epidemic of tuberculosis and to renew efforts to eliminate the disease. Though factors like growing drug resistance and the deadly connection between TB and HIV are posing a great challenge to the treatment of the disease, tuberculosis is preventable and curable if necessary precautions are taken and patients stick to the drug regimen.

The 24th March of every year is World Tuberculosis Day. The relevance of the statement cannot be more reinstated on the curable communicable disease in a country like India. Out of sheer ignorance, TB is still considered a fatal disease and the struggle to eradicate the disease and to open the closed mindset of the society has become an everyday battle for patients and medical practitioners alike. On a quest for answers Medindia met with Dr. P. Senthilkumar, Pulmonologist of ‘Asthma, TB and Chest Clinic’, Chennai, South India, to inform on the significance of World TB Day 2011.

This is the cheapest way for detecting tuberculosis and may become the first line of test provided it is accepted by the medical community.Presently smear microscopy is the most commonly used method in developing countries. This technique is 100 years old and involves staining the sputum with a dye that colors only Mycobacterium Tuberculosis bacteria, which can then be examined under a microscope. This technique can be used in places with minimum diagnostic facilities, but is not very sensitive unless the bacilli concentration in sputum is high.

Drug resistance is often a problem in malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, sexually transmitted diseases and hospital acquired diseases. Judicious use of antibiotics can control the problem

Sputum test to detect the presence of pulmonary tuberculosis