Almost four months after doctors at the PD Hinduja Hospital found 12 tuberculosis patients to be “totally” drug resistant, the hospital has reported two more such cases. The latest patients, who are from Mumbai, have not been responding to both first and second line of treatment, said doctors. They also said three of the original 12 cases diagnosed by them have not been responding to treatment.
“In the past three months, we have come across two more cases that have not been responding to any treatment. They have been put on salvage treatment along with the other three patients. We are not very optimistic about them but are trying to prolong their life for as long as possible,” said Dr Zarir Udwadia from Hinduja Hospital. He added that three of the 12 patients are stable, while three others had not returned for treatment.
In January, a team of researchers led by Udwadia published a paper in the international journal Clinically Infectious Diseases, describing the diagnosis of Totally Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (TDR-TB) in 12 people. Three patients eventually died. The news created a furore with government health officials denying the presence of a totally resistant strain of TB and instead labelling the condition as Extra Extensively Drug Resistant TB (XXDR-TB).
Three months on, dispute over nomenclature continues and state health officials have denied the occurrence of the two fresh cases. “The entity of totally drug resistance does not exist medically. A span of a few months is too premature to decide that a patient will not respond to any treatment. Private labs may claim anything, but cases are confirmed only after cross checking with the National TB Research Institute in Bangalore. As of now, no more such cases have been reported,” said Dr P Y Gaikwad, state TB officer.
However, Gaikwad confirmed that the state reported 16 new cases of Extensively Drug Resistant TB (XDR-TB) from January to March. “Virulence of XDR-TB is very high. Most of these cases have been reported from Mumbai, while the rest are from other parts of the state,” he said.
The state has written to the Centre seeking funds and equipment to set up a path lab to exclusively test XDR-TB cases, most likely to be located at the JJ Hospital. However, they are awaiting approval.
The Indian Express
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/two-new-xxdrtb-cases-detected-at-city-hospital/940529