A day after a MBBS doctor from Sion Hopsital succumbed to MDR TB, the civic body has decided to screen resident doctors on a quarterly basis for Tuberculosis (TB). In addition, the students would undergo a sensitisation programme before joining the hospital for their MBBS course on how to protect themselves from the infection.
Until now it was only at Sewri TB Hospital that the staff and doctors were put through a quarterly screening for TB, but with the death of Dr Samidha Khandare on Sunday night at Hinduja Hospital due to multi drug resistant (MDR) TB, the civic body will conduct screenings of its staff and doctors quarterly, said additional municipal commissioner, BMC, Manisha Mhaiskar. “What we were doing at Sewri Hospital, the quarterly screening of hospital doctors and its staff will now be done at all BMC hospitals across the city,” said Ms Mhaiskar.
According to the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (Mard), as of now there are at least 20 resident doctors who are infected with TB.
Apart from screening, the BMC will also introduce a sensitisation programme for the new entrants in its medical college with regard to infection control.
“We will conduct a sensitisation programme for the batches taking admission in the MBBS course, so
that they know what precautions to take to avoid infection. A team of three faculties from the major hospitals, KEM, Nair and Sion will conduct the sensitisation programme for the students,” said Ms Mhaiskar.
The civic body also plans to conduct a workshop for engineers and architects with international experts and BMC’s infection control expert Dr Dyson Mistica. The seminar is aimed at exploring how design and construction help minimise infection in hospitals.
However, from 2010 there has been a consistent increase in number of MDR TB cases. In 2010, the BMC recorded 53 cases of MDR TB and in 2011 181 cases were recorded. However, in 2012 2,195 cases were recorded and 1,300 in 2013 till June. The civic body still maintains that the sudden steep increase in numbers is not an actual increase, but only a reflection of better diagnosis.