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Journalism of Courage
The Health Ministry has decided to ban serological diagnostic test for tuberculosis,in line with a World Health Organisation recommendation. India is going to become the first country to execute the ban on the test,which is highly inaccurate but commonly used.
It is estimated that 1.5 million patients are subjected to the test every year in India for diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and many of them are started on anti-TB treatment on the basis of the results. In many cases,all it does is result in antibiotic resistance.
According to sources,Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad recently approved the ban and it is likely to be notified in the next few days.
Drug resistance has emerged as India’s biggest TB challenge,with reports of an even extreme drug resistant variety emanating from Mumbai.
The country is estimated to have 75 new cases of TB (sputum positive) every year,of which an estimated 2 per cent are of the drug-resistant variety.
A kit for the serological test costs an estimated Rs 800-1,000. It involves examination of blood serum,in contrast to tests like Elisa and Serum IgG.
The readymade TB kits are popular in the private setup because these require very little expertise to operate. However,there is a very high chance of over or underdiagnosis. Incidentally,another alternative — microscopic examination of sputum — involves kits that are less expensive but these require adequately trained personnel.
