The government on Monday launched Bedaquiline, an exclusive drug to tackle drug resistant TB cases in the country, among several other initiatives against the disease. According to the union health ministry, Bedaquiline is being introduced at six identified tertiary care centres across India, having advanced facilities for laboratory testing and intensive care for patients. "Bedaquiline will be given to multi-drug resistant TB patients with resistance to either all fluoroquinolone (antibiotics for respiratory and urinaryb tract infections)or all second line injectables," said an official from the Ministry,speaking about the initiative.
Among several other steps taken by the ministry against Tuberculosis(TB) are the induction of over 500 Cartridge Based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test(CBNAAT) machines. "This test is fully automated and provides results within two hours. It is a highly…
