Anurag Kumar
Patients in Pune have been requested to acquire the medicines from outside sources because the health department of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is experiencing an extreme scarcity of the antibiotic cyclcloserine, which is used for the treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). However, according to authorities from the local administration, the shortfall is the result of the state government’s failure to provide adequate supplies.
Drug-resistant tuberculosis, in which the germs do not respond to standard antibiotics used in the first line of treatment, is more challenging to treat. At the moment, the city of Pune is home to approximately 445 DR-TB patients who are in need of second-line antibiotics such as cyclcloserine. The city’s participation in the Center’s national TB control and elimination program has been significantly hampered as a result of the medicine shortage.
According to Dr. Prashant Bothe, who works for the city’s TB department, “the shortage is due to the lack of supply from the state government.” For a period of one week, the patients are being requested to purchase the drugs on their own, after which we will begin to source them from within the community. The PMC is currently in the process of obtaining this medication, and it is possible that the issue will be remedied within the next week.
Patients diagnosed with drug-resistant tuberculosis are charged 150 yen for a single dose of cyclocloserine, and they are required to take the medication on a daily basis for a period of either nine or 18 months. Several DR-TB patients who were seeking treatment in Pune as part of the Centre’s national TB control plan are said to have been negatively impacted as a result of the scarcity, according to doctors and health advocates. In fact, this could cause patients to experience relapses or even develop resistance to antibiotics that are used in the second line of treatment if there is a gap between doses.
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According to Dr. Mahavir Modi, a chest physician at Ruby Hall Clinic, patients have also begun complaining about the unavailability of the medicine in the city. According to him, every month they find an average of eight to ten new instances of drug-resistant tuberculosis. “Most of the time, patients diagnosed with MDR-TB (multidrug-resistant tuberculosis) are sent to government facilities by private hospitals. They only travel to private hospitals for consultations and follow-up care in certain circumstances. This medication requires a lengthy drug regimen that must be followed for a period of either nine or 18 months in order to be effective. According to Dr. Modi, it is essential to take the medication at the prescribed time every day because any delay in therapy could result in relapse or patients developing resistance to the medication.
