Bedaquiline, a drug that can significantly reduce the treatment time of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), was rolled out in Telangana on Saturday.
The drug is made available only to the Central government, which in turn rations it to the States’ public health sector. The drug is not available for private purchase as its use requires close monitoring for side-effects and also for concerns of development of drug-resistance by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes the disease, if misused.
S. Kuldeep Singh, Deputy Director General, Central TB Division, rolled out the drug for the entire State through a launch programme here on Saturday. Though the drug was first launched in the State in June, eligible patients from across Telangana could not avail it due to delays in setting up of nodal centres in Khammam and Ranga Reddy. As of now, the drug is being made available through nodal centres in Hyderabad and Warangal.
According to State TB division officials, there are around 1,200 cases of multi-drug tuberculosis in Telangana. However, only a handful of these will be eligible for Bedaquiline treatment, based on eligibility against numerous criteria. Officials also said the drug can reduce the treatment duration to six months as against the 24-month treatment that MDR-TB patients have to undergo if the treatment regimen does not include the drug.
Since the start of the programme in Hyderabad and Warangal in June, the drug was restricted to patients from these districts and surrounding areas. Consequently, only nine patients in the State are availing Bedaquiline at present. This number is expected to jump to 50 after Saturday’s roll-out for the entire State.
