A new machine to diagnose tuberculosis within 90 minutes has been set up at the State-run Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital.
The machine (cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test) has been funded by the Centre and costs Rs. 16 lakh. It was inaugurated by Minister of State for Medical Education Sharan Prakash R. Patil and Minister for Infrastructure and Information Roshan Baig on Tuesday.
March 24 is celebrated as World Tuberculosis Day every year. Explaining the features of the machine, Medical Superintendent S.I.S. Khadri said that it would help diagnose TB associated with HIV. The test, which costs Rs. 1,500 in private hospitals, would be done free of cost at Bowring for patients referred from the ART centre. Thirty such machines have been set up across the country.
As many as 60,779 persons were diagnosed with TB across the State last year, of which 41,289 are undergoing treatment.
Speaking on the sidelines, Mr. Baig said generic drugs were not being popularised owing to vested interests of private pharmaceutical companies.
