Doctors’ ignorance blamed for rapidly increasing TB cases

Islamabad: Many patients have recently complained about the failure of government and private hospitals in providing proper, timely treatment and diagnosis of Tuberculosis.

Leading hospitals across the country have been frequently misdiagnosing the harmful, contagious disease, giving patient the wrong medication thus leading to various complications.

The first Tuberculosis Patient Management Symposium was held at a local hotel earlier last week to address the issue. The Symposium was organized by the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination; it was largely attended by prominent experts in the field, as well as a number of Tuberculosis patients looking to gain insight on the treatment and management of the disease.

One of the attendees of the Symposium, Mohammad Aslam, 71, shared his tragic story. He said that he had contracted the disease in Peshawar and had inkling about it from the symptoms he was experiencing, but upon visiting leading private and government hospitals, he was given medication for other conditions. His health continued to deteriorate till finally, his condition was diagnosed and the treatment was initiated at a public hospital exactly one year after the symptoms had first developed.

Experts shared their knowledge on the subject, and emphasized on the importance of proper diagnosis and management of the disease to prevent complications.