'Mahavir model' in TB control praised

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, MARCH 24. The success of the `Mahavir Hospital model' as the public-private mix (PPM) used in the implementation of directly observed treatment short (DOTS) course for treatment of tuberculosis was recalled by speakers at a function here to observe World TB Day on Saturday.

They were all praise for the project, sponsored by the World Health Organisation and the Department for International Development (DFID) being carried out at the Mahavir Hospital and Research Centre where the function was held, also coinciding with the 2,600th birth anniversary celebrations of Bhagwan Mahavir. It was the same hospital which shot into fame same day last year when the then US President, Mr. Bill Clinton, visited and graced the administration of final dose of TB drug to three patients under DOTS.

Marking the World TB Day, three patients, a young burqa-clad girl, a woman and a man, who migrated to city as construction labourers, were administered the last dose of TB medicine by Mr. Akkineni Nageswara Rao, veteran cine actor, Mrs. Shobha Naidu, noted classical dancer, and Dr. Nalini Krishnan of REACH, a Chennai-based community initiative against TB threat. They declared the three patients cured of the disease.

Mr. Nageswara Rao turned nostalgic and remembered the role he played as a TB patient in the Telugu film, `Velugu Needalu', three decades ago. That was the time when popular perception was TB meant death. Not anymore, with medical advancement the disease could be totally cured. But this message should reach the poor and ignorant masses, he said and offered to do his bit in spreading it across through TV channels. He complimented the Mahavir Hospital for rendering commendable service to the poor and the middle classes.

Mrs. Shobha Naidu, too, emphasised on the need for bringing about an awareness among people that TB is curable. Dr. Nalini Krishnan said she had been hearing about the success of the PPM-DOTS approach and now she has got an opportunity to see it. In fact, it has become popular as `Mahavir model' in Chennai for the way a public-private partnership was brought about in controlling the disease. True to its name, the hospital has been showing the same compassion as preached by Lord Mahavir.

Mr. Shantilal Daga, chairman of the Bhagwan Mahavir Memorial Trust, which runs the hospital, spoke. Mr. Subhash Chand Sancheti, managing trustee, and Mr. Babulal Jain, trustee treasurer, attended. Dr. K.J.R. Murthy, the man behind the PPM -DOTS project at the hospital, said under the programme launched in September 1995, one lakh population was covered initially. It was later extended to five lakhs. All the private practitioners working in the area were listed and contacted personally by the medical officer of the TB unit of the hospital. The private practitioners were requested to refer chest symptomatics to the chest clinic where they were investigated and categorised in accordance with DOTS.

After three initial treatments at Mahavir, during which time patient education too was given in the presence of a family member, both by the medical officer and senior treatment supervisor, the patients were shifted to the neighbouring DOTS centres. The idea was to administer the dosage on time, closer home and under direct personal supervision of the medical practitioner. The difference was there for all to see, with cure rate being in the range of 95 per cent to 98 per cent.

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