Rajshahi: Some 19,276 people get infected with tuberculosis, including 11,016 cough positive ones, in Rajshahi division in 2015 up by 1,363 than the previous year, speakers at a press conference on Wednesday.

Like other divisions of the country, Rajshahi has attained a significance success in TB control programme during the last couple of years and recovery rate is 90 percent.

Offices of Divisional Director of Health and Civil Surgeon jointly organised the press conference in association with National TB Control Programme and Damien Foundation at the conference hall of Divisional Director of Health in the city to mark the world TB Day to be observed on Thursday.

During his keynote speech, Abdus Sobhan, Divisional Deputy Director of Health, urged the journalists to help doctors and health workers in identifying TB patients and bring them under treatment.

‘TB is no more a deadly disease now and it could be fully cured if the affected patients take medicines properly for six to eight months at a stretch as per the suggestions of the physicians’, he added.

Besides, twenty nine percent of old patients turned into MDR-TB patients in Bangladesh. The scope of treatment for MDR-TB patients is limited compared to its number in the country.

Healthcare providers can help prevent MDR TB by quickly diagnosing cases, following recommended treatment guidelines, monitoring patients’ response to treatment, and making sure therapy is completed.

Another way to prevent getting MDR TB is to avoid exposure to known MDR TB patients in closed or crowded places such as hospitals, prisons, or homeless shelters.

Superintendent of Chest Disease Hospital Dr Sadiqul Islam, Consultant of Chest Diseases Clinic Dr Azraf Hossain, Divisional TB Expert Dr Saiful Islam, Divisional Coordinator of Challenge TB Project Himangsu Karmaker and Project Director of Damien Foundation Arif Iftekhar also spoke Dr Sobhan mentioned that the TB is an infectious disease that usually spreads through breathing of the affected patients.

He said cough with pain in the chest for more than three weeks is the symptom of the disease. In the event of the contacting the disease, the infected persons are required to be diagnosed immediately, he stressed.

Free treatment facilities are available at all the upazila health complexes, district hospitals, public and private medical colleges and other health centres in the country.

Dr Sobhan stressed the need for massive participation of the civil society members in creating mass awareness about tuberculosis.

He called for conducting massive awareness and searching programmes on TB in most of the vulnerable areas like slum and char areas without further delay.