Feb. 9: There is now hope for tuberculosis patients who have developed multi-drug resistance, thanks to a new state government initiative.

The state government, in collaboration with the National Rural Health Mission, Assam, is planning to start a more advanced directly observed treatment short-course (DOTS)-Plus, also known as multi-drug resistance programme, at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) soon. The Centre will fund the entire programme.

The DOTS-Plus service is available in several states in the country and is being implemented under the revised national tuberculosis control programme.

The responsibility of implementing the DOTS-Plus programme here will rest with the GMCH department of tuberculosis and chest diseases.

A DOTS centre is already in existence in the hospital where patients suffering from tuberculosis are administered free medicines.

The DOTS programme also happens to be a WHO recommended one that emphasises constant monitoring of tuberculosis patients, training of medical personnel in treating the disease effectively, case detection through examination of sputum samples of a patient, availability of drugs at all times for patients and above all, a consistent system to record and assess the treatment results and overall tuberculosis burden on the general population.

“Most of the time, patients undergoing treatment for tuberculosis under DOT develop resistance to several drugs that greatly slows down the recovery process. The DOTS-Plus programme has been designed to provide treatment to patients who have developed multi-drug resistance to the diseases and for who treatment provided under DOTS is no longer valid. The project has already been sanctioned by the Centre and will soon be launched at the GMCH. This will benefit a large number of tuberculosis patients in the long run,” state health services regional director Partho Gogoi said.

The DOTS centre at the GMCH receives a minimum of 30 patients on a regular basis.

Moreover, the programme that will include free medicines will also benefit poor patients to a great extent.

“DOTS-Plus treatment is meant for patients with multi-drug resistance. But it is very costly and expenditure can cross Rs 1 lakh, which a common patient cannot afford. Medicines are being provided free of cost under the current DOTS programme. But there are patients who undergo treatment for tuberculosis in private hospitals. After spending much money on medicines, if they develop resistance to drugs, they are not in a position to spend more on advanced treatment,” GMCH principal Kabul Saikia said.

“Moreover, the related medical tests are also expensive. Therefore, with central government funding, many patients stand to benefit from the DOTS-Plus programme,” Saikia added.