Better medical facilities sought

Speakers at a discussion yesterday stressed that the country needs better medical facilities and human resources to detect and treat tuberculosis (TB) among children.
In order to lower child mortality rate, focus must be put on the treatment of child TB, they added.
Brac, National Tuberculosis Control Programme, Department of Health, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the daily Jugantar jointly organised the roundtable discussion at Brac Centre in the capital.
Ten percent of all TB patients in the world are children while 3 percent of all TB patients in Bangladesh are children, said Dr Mujibur Rahman, national programme consultant of National Tuberculosis Control Programme, while presenting the keynote presentation.
He said detecting TB among children is harder than detecting TB among grownups, as child TB does not show any specific symptoms.
Moreover, the medical officials concerned lack adequate training or skills to detect or treat TB patients.
The speakers said lack of adequate diagnostic facilities in the country is another hurdle in detecting child TB.
MD Humayun Kabir, senior secretary to Health and Family Welfare Ministry, while addressing as chief guest, said the government is planning to set up a hospital in the capital to treat Multi Drug Resistant TB.