Already witnessing a shortage of medicines for hepatitis-c patients, government hospitals in the state have now run out of medicines for the treatment of patients diagnosed with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).
Government hospitals have been facing a shortage of medicines for MDR-TB for the past three months and now for the past one month, hospitals have run out of seven out of nine medicines required to treat MDR-TB patients. Doctors said hospitals are facing a shortage of pyrazinamide 750mg, levofioxacin, rifampicin 150mg, cycloserine, clofazimine, isoniazid and linezolid. Only a few hospitals that have these medicines in their stock are treating patients.
Those getting treatment under the national TB control programme are left at the mercy of god as they are being told to purchase medicines from private medical stores. However, these medicines are not even available at private medical stores as these are provided by the government.
MDR-TB is caused by resistance to more than two anti-TB drugs. Patients diagnosed with MDR-TB have to take medicines for up to 18 months and a gap in the course can lead to treatment failure or resistance to more drugs.
An official of the health department said, “Earlier hospitals were being given around 10% supply of their demands but for the past one month, the state health department has stopped the supply of a majority of the medicines.”
Dr Guntash Kaur, medical officer at the TB unit of the civil hospital, Sangrur, said, “We have not received any supply for the past one month. I contacted private chemist shops to make arrangements for medicines. But the medicines are not available at these chemist shops as well.”
Sangrur civil surgeon Dr Parminder Kaur said, “We have sent the demand to the state health department and they assured us to send it as soon as possible.”
Director health services Dr Adarshpal Kaur, said, “I am not aware of the shortage and will get it checked.”
Dr Rajesh Bhaskar, nodal officer for the national TB control programme, said, “Earlier the medicine was being supplied by the Centre under the national TB control programme. The Centre has run out of stock and they have directed us to purchase it locally. Therefore, we have further directed districts to purchase it on their own. The medicines are available in Jan Aushadhi Kendras but districts were not aware of it. Now the department has informed them and few districts have already started purchasing from Jan Aushadhi Kendras.”
