Haryanato be Ist north Indian state giving 2nd line TB treatment

Chandigarh, Mar 24 (UNI) Haryana will soon become the first State in north India and third in the country to provide free second line treatment to those TB patients who have become drug resistant.

The second line treatment will be provided under Directly Observed Treatment (DOTS) Plus programme, Chief MInister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said in a message issued here today on the occasion of World TB Day.

Mr Hooda said that in the first phase of DOTS Plus programme, seven districts of Rohtak, Panipat, Sonepat,Jind, Karnal,Jhajjar and Bhiwani would be included. Medicine worth Rs one lakh per multi-drug resistant patient would be provided free of cost with the help of Central Government.

He said that with a view to address the problem of TB in HIV patients, joint TB and HIV collaborative activities would soon be initiated in Haryana because HIV positive person has 50 to 60 per cent lifetime risk of developing TB as compared to HIV negative persons who have a 10 per cent lifetime risk of developing the disease.

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