Agartala, May, 14: A senior doctor from Christian Medical College (CMC) in Tamil Nadu today urged the Tripura government to build a guesthouse in Vellore for poor patients from the state who go there for treatment.

Dr Debasish Danda, a specialist in rheumatoid arthritis at CMC, arrived here on Friday along with his wife Dr Susmita Datta.

The doctor said the flow of patients, including those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, from Tripura to the CMC had increased over the years.

Rheumatoid arthritis is emerging as a major disease across the country, with one in every 100 suffering from it. What further aggravates the woes of the patients is that the country has only 25 specialists to treat the disease, he said.

Besides, Dr Danda said, a survey conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has found that one third of the people suffering from long term chronic diseases in India were arthritis patients.

?Unless preventive measures are taken, this disease will continue spreading,? Dr Danda said.

He asserted that infrastructure support for the treatment of the disease was also very little.

?Only Lucknow and Chennai have facilities for treatment,? Dr Danda said.

About alternative methods of treatment, Dr Danda said, ?There are people who consult quacks for indigenous methods of treatment and aggravate their condition. It should be avoided.?

He said women were more vulnerable to arthritis than men. ?Out of every four patients, three are women. They contract this disease during pregnancy with symptoms of swollen joints,? Dr Danda said.

He said pregnant women should test whether they can keep their palms tightly closed for half an hour and unless they can do so they must consult a specialist.

He regretted that arthritis is not included in the syllabus in MBBS-level courses but only at the post-graduate level.