The Untouchables
It`s not the first time we`ve seen totally drug resistant strains of the killer lung disease. In 2003 there were cases seen in both Italy and Iran and now in India. Tuberculosis is primarily a pulmonary (lung) disease, but it can affect other areas of the body such as the lymph nodes, kidneys, bones and joints. In New York State alone there are approximately 1,300 new cases reported each year.
Though the World Health Organization (WHO) is not anticipating the Indian strain being seen now to spread elsewhere rapidly, there is always a chance. Usually TB is cured by a regimen of antibiotics for 6 to 9 months and as with other disease, if the regimen is cut down or cut short, the bacteria can grow back inciting a relapse in the patient. However, doctors in Mumbai, India have reported a total of 12 cases of patients who have failed initial treatment as well as showing no response to other medications attempted over the next two to three years. Three of those patients have died, and the other 9 have shown no improvement. WHO is now developing a team of experts to handle and begin investigating the cases headed by Dr. Nata Menabde, who is WHO`s Indian representative. She hopes to find a way to improve laboratory diagnostics to find more drug-resistant cases and work on ways to identify ways to regulate TB treatments. ``Now there is a high urgency attached to these findings even though the knowledge about the existence of such cases is not new`` she said. ``The political momentum is right because it has attracted the top level of attention, given the seriousness of the matter.``
