TB news from India

The Hindu: To save lives, hospital to import TB drug from South Africa
Hinduja Hospital is trying to import bedaquiline from South Africa for two of its patients suffering from multidrug-resistant TB. Janssen, the Belgian pharmaceutical company that manufactures the drug, recently phased out its Compassionate Use Programme, under which the hospital had first procured the drug for patients in February 2013.

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Hindustan Times: Soon, medical colleges may need drug-resistant TB centres to get recognised
The government has proposed making drug-resistant tuberculosis centres mandatory for a medical college to get recognition. The move is aimed at ensuring that patients have access to a facility nearby, correct diagnosis is made and appropriate treatment is started in time.

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Mumbai Mirror: People with severe TB know littel about side effects: study
Greater awareness about tuberculosis drugs and their side effects can help patients cope with their condition better and reduce the “default rate”, the number of people who quit their treatment midway, a study has revealed.

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Bangalore Mirror: MDR-TB weighs on the minds of patients: doctor
In India, managing the stigma of a disease often becomes more important than the actual treatment of it. Karnataka wants to integrate mental health care with the treatment process for TB.

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India Today: Nadda reviews status of Leprosy and TB in the country
J P Nadda, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, held a high level meeting to review the status of the National Leprosy Eradication Program and the progress made under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program.

-- See also: 5 Dariya News: J P Nadda chairs high level review meeting on leprosy and TB

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Scientific research

The Hindu: How gut bacteria affect immunity
The abundance and type of bacteria in the intestine gets altered when infected with TB, a study by Indian researchers shows.

The Hindu: IGIB shows how fat cells protect TB bacteria from oxidative stress
Researchers from the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi, have found that even among the actively dividing bacteria, the essentiality of TB genes varies depending on whether the bacteria reside in fat-rich environment or not.