Survey points to TB pill violation
Survey points to TB pill violation 60% prescriptions do not follow dosage rules, says study : G.S. MUDUR New Delhi, May 5: Nearly 60 per cent of tuberculosis medication dose strengths sold in India through prescriptions of private practitioners do not conform with standard TB treatment guidelines, a study has revealed. The findings corroborate suggestions made by some Indian doctors — several times over the past two decades — that a majority of private practitioners do not write correct prescriptions for treating TB. The government’s TB control programme provides free TB treatment to more than 70 per cent of patients. In the new study, US-based researchers analysed the sales of TB drugs in India and nine other countries, examining sales only driven by the private sector. “Sixty per cent of the pills sold (in the private market) can’t be aligned with the standard guidelines,” said William Wells, a public health specialist with TB Alliance...