Mumbai: Only 150 to 200 doses of the new TB treatment for drug-resistant patients have been supplied to Maharashtra, most of which will be allocated to Mumbai, with some sent to Thane. The city reports over 60,000 TB cases annually—about 10% of them drug-resistant. While acknowledging that the supply is far lower than demand, BMC health officials noted that distribution is controlled by the Centre.
Officials said the rollout is expected in the next 10 to 15 days. However, how the first 150-200 patients will be selected has not been disclosed. Training for 80 to 90 chest physicians in public hospitals was conducted over the past two days. The treatment regimen, comprising four drugs—Bedaquiline, Pretomanid, Linezolid, and Moxifloxacin—known as BPalM, received WHO nod in 2022. It reduces the 18-month treatment for TB, associated with severe side-effects, to just six months.
“These medicines are not available in private setups, so patients must be referred to govt facilities. The private sector is unregulated, meaning even general practitioners can prescribe medicines that should be restricted to specialists. This increases the risk of resistance in patients,” said Dr Alpa Dalal, pulmonologist at Thane’s Jupiter Hospital and city’s TB Hospital. She was among the doctors involved in recent training sessions for physicians. Dr Vikas Oswal, who oversaw Mumbai segment of the 3-year nationwide clinical trial of the treatment regimen, in use in 40+ countries, said training will be held elsewhere in the state too. — Eshan Kalyanikar
Mumbai: Only 150 to 200 doses of the new TB treatment for drug-resistant patients have been supplied to Maharashtra, most of which will be allocated to Mumbai, with some sent to Thane. The city reports over 60,000 TB cases annually—about 10% of them drug-resistant. While acknowledging that the supply is far lower than demand, BMC health officials noted that distribution is controlled by the Centre.
Officials said the rollout is expected in the next 10 to 15 days. However, how the first 150-200 patients will be selected has not been disclosed. Training for 80 to 90 chest physicians in public hospitals was conducted over the past two days. The treatment regimen, comprising four drugs—Bedaquiline, Pretomanid, Linezolid, and Moxifloxacin—known as BPalM, received WHO nod in 2022. It reduces the 18-month treatment for TB, associated with severe side-effects, to just six months.
“These medicines are not available in private setups, so patients must be referred to govt facilities. The private sector is unregulated, meaning even general practitioners can prescribe medicines that should be restricted to specialists. This increases the risk of resistance in patients,” said Dr Alpa Dalal, pulmonologist at Thane’s Jupiter Hospital and city’s TB Hospital. She was among the doctors involved in recent training sessions for physicians. Dr Vikas Oswal, who oversaw Mumbai segment of the 3-year nationwide clinical trial of the treatment regimen, in use in 40+ countries, said training will be held elsewhere in the state too. — Eshan Kalyanikar