The goals of reducing the incidence of Tuberculosis and of reducing mortality cannot be reached without addressing under nutrition in the country. Explain (200 Words)
Refer - The Hindu
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 2 years
KEY POINTS
· With more drug arsenals such as rifampicin, ethambutol, pyrazinamide, the fight against TB bacteria continued, which became multidrug resistant.
· The nutrition of the individual, is the most vital factor in the prevention in tuberculous disease
· The fact is that 90% of Indians exposed to TB remain dormant if their nutritional status and thereby the immune system, is good.
· When the infected person is immunocompromised, TB as a disease manifests itself in 10% of the infected.
· Chhattisgarh also initiated the supply of groundnut, moong dhal and soya oil, and from April 2018, under the Nikshay Poshan Yojana of the National Health Mission, all States began extending cash support of Rs 500 per month to TB patients to buy food; this amount needs to be raised.
· The intake of adequate balanced food, especially by the poor, can work as a vaccine to prevent TB.
· This vaccine is “polyvalent, acting against many gastrointestinal and respiratory tract infections; orally active, that can be produced in the country without patent rights; dispensed over the counter, without prescription and without any side-effects; safe for children.
· The food vaccine is a guaranteed right for life under the Constitution for all citizens, more so for TB patients. Thus, the goals of reducing the incidence of TB in India and of reducing TB mortality cannot be reached without addressing undernutrition.
