Role of laser therapy in management of "treatment failure" cases of pulmonary tuberculosis as an adjuvant to chemotherapy

Pulmonary tuberculosis is the number one public health problem in our Country. About half of our population is infected by it. The total number of tuberculosis patients in India constitutes half of the world's tuberculosis cases. With such a serious problem, is it possible for India to attain the target of WHO to achieve health for all by 2000 A.D. and to see the disappearance or control of tuberculosis? The causes or this aggravating problem of tuberculosis are many. Some of the most important are poor cure rate, low case finding, high-treatment default, high bacterial resistance, etc. WHO has given priority to increasing the cure rate. Field studies in our Country have shown that the cure rate with the standard regime is not more than 35 percent, whereas WHO has recommended a target of 55 percent for developing countries like India. To close this big gap, our Institute has entered into an agreement with Uzbek scientists through Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India to set up an Uzbek joint Medical Centre for laser treatment.