look news india
New Delhi, September 6 (HS). The Union Health Ministry has approved the introduction of a new shorter and more effective treatment regimen for drug-resistant TB in India. This treatment regimen uses a four-drug combination called BPALM which is bedaquiline, pretomanid, linezolid and moxifloxacin respectively. The ministry says that it has proven to be a safer, more effective and quicker treatment option than the previous MDR-TB treatment process.
The Union Health Ministry on Friday said the move will help in eliminating TB in India. It has been approved and licensed for use in India by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) under the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) for Multi-Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB).
The Union Health Ministry said that MDR-TB treatment can last up to 20 months with serious side effects, while BPLAM can cure drug-resistant TB in just six months with a high treatment success rate. India's 75 thousand drug-resistant TB patients will now be able to take advantage of this short effective treatment system. This will also reduce people's medicine expenses significantly.