Tamil Nadu Health Minister Hon. Subramanian unveiled the new logo of REACH during the 25th anniversary celebrations of the NGO to be held in Chennai on January 20, 2023. Seen (from left) Ramya Ananthakrishnan, Director, REACH; Nalini Krishnan, Executive Secretary and Co-Founder, REACH; Soumya Swaminathan, Former Chief Scientist, WHO; Shivamurugan, Reach Executive Committee; and N. Ram, Director, The Hindu Publishing Group. , Photo credit: SR Raghunathan
Raising the need to develop a new vaccine for tuberculosis, Soumya Swaminathan, former chief scientist of the World Health Organization (WHO), said India should consider its accelerated timeline for TB elimination as compared to the rest of the world. And scientists and researchers across the country as well as globally should come together to develop a better vaccine.
“We need a new vaccine, better diagnosis and care. Why can’t we have a rapid test for TB like we have for COVID-19? …. There is technology, science, researchers and companies. I There seems to be a calling, a mission need to come together. th The anniversary of Reach, an NGO working in the field of TB, was celebrated on Friday.
For diseases for which good vaccines are available, there is hope that they can be controlled or even eliminated at some point, he said. Now we have genetic sequencing done everywhere. There are new platforms – mRNA platform, viral vector, DNA, protein subunit and conventional vaccines. All these platforms were used for COVID-19. We should test them all for TB as well.”
Noting that developing a TB vaccine will not be easy, he said it is possible to make progress with the right investment and collaboration. Dr. Swaminathan had earlier told that the BCG vaccine is 100 years old.
He said the findings of the National TB Prevalence Survey conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research and the WHO were worrying. Considering the country’s target of achieving TB elimination by 2025, the prevalence was 300 per 100,000 bacteriologically confirmed TB cases, he added. “When I joined the Tuberculosis Research Center in 1991 as a young doctor, this was the trend. It makes us wonder why despite having a national program and global funding, we are not doing any harm Yet our prevalence is very high, and Tamil Nadu’s prevalence is 322 per 100,000 for all types of TB. The mortality rate is about 4%-5%, while in TN it is 6% Diabetes, Alcoholism and TB National Average There are many more in TN than that,” she said.
In India, the main risk factor for TB is malnutrition. “This is why we find that TB cases are higher in lower economic groups, especially in tribal and remote rural areas and among the urban poor. It becomes an issue of equity. How do we address this? Why is the TB rate four times higher in the group?” he saw.
He called for implementing a science-based approach to TB control now. “Doing more of the same thing is probably not going to help. We need to brainstorm where are the challenges and shortcomings.
Outlining the learnings from the prevalence survey, he said, “First, can we start a large-scale active case finding program using X-rays. Second, we need to use more molecular tests. On average, In India, only 20% of patients have access to the first molecular test. During Covid-19 we have done 90 crore tests. If only we could scale up so fast for Covid-19 because there are labs everywhere which do not only PCR but Sequencing can also be done, so why can’t we use these facilities for TB.
Health Minister Hon. Subramaniam, who released the new logo and charter of REACH on the occasion, said 96,500 new TB patients were identified in the state last year.
Nalini Krishnan, executive secretary and co-founder of REACH, said TB is still a challenge. “But with new strategies and an ‘End TB’ goal, recognition and community involvement, we think it is time to redirect the history of TB control, change our approach, and achieve our common goal of creating a TB-free world.” Best time ever,” he said. The Hindu Publishing Group director N. Ram introduced Dr. Swaminathan. Ramya Ananthakrishnan, Director, REACH, Rajeevan Krishnaswamy, Chairman, REACH Executive Committee and Sheela Augustine, Deputy Director, REACH spoke.