TB awareness programme held at Tamenglong
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Daniel Kamei

Tamenglong, April 14 2012: Under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP), the Luithui Gonmei Memorial Trust (LGMT) Tamenglong conducted an awareness Program on Prevention of TB and DOTS, under the theme ''Stop TB in my lifetime'' at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) Tamenglong.

The programme was sponsored by District TB Control Society, Tamenglong and it was attended by around 150 students, staff of JNV and Principal with Dr.Chambo Gonmei, DTO, S.Ibomcha Singh, STS and W.Binod Singh, STLS as resource persons.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Chambo Gonmei said that it is indeed necessary to sensitize the students and youth as they are the agents of change.

For a free and healthy society, we should have a healthy family, healthy youth, healthy community and a healthy nation.

Tuberculosis is a chronic bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Once a person develops active tuberculosis, it can cause serious debilitating condition incapacitating a person to work normally, and ultimately the patient may die, if not treated in time.

During the programme, it was noted that many students were quite ignorant about tuberculosis, which is an age old disease and stigmatization and discrimination still persists.

The emergence of HIV/AIDS and global epidemic of diabetic's mellitus has increased the incidence of TB.

TB is the most common opportunistic infection in HIV/AIDS patients and is the leading killer disease amongst the infectious diseases in the world.

About 4-6 patients are diagnosed for TB every month in Tml District.

Many people are silently suffering from this dreaded disease in many parts of the district.

Dr Chambo Gonmei encouraged the students as well as all those who are suffering from cough for 2 weeks or more, which is the most common symptom of TB, to for check up in a designated microscopic center/DTC for free sputum examination and free treatment which is known as DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Short Course) .

We need to spread the message that TB is completely curable through DOTS strategy, he exhorted.

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