Cadila Pharmaceuticals Limited – one of India’s largest privately held pharmaceuticals companies organised various activities across the country to raise awareness about Tuberculosis on World TB Day (March 24). The campaign to engage medical professionals, patients and public at large through cyclothon, check up camps, in-clinic activities, radio and film activity across the country.
The awareness campaign aims to highlight the importance of early diagnosis, regular dosage, completion of treatment and patient compliance to help control the disease. As part of the campaign, a cyclothon was arranged in association with Sabarmati Medical Association, Ahmedabad. Over 150 doctors of Sabarmati Medical Association participated in the cycle rally. The rally began from Sabarmati and culminated at Gurukul where an interaction was done with children of the Gurukul on TB awareness.
In addition, patient awareness programs and health camps, awareness programs for nursing staff are also planned on March 25 in various parts of the country. One such awareness camp is being done at the Primary Health Centre at Kashindra, Ahmedabad. Both these activities were conducted under the company’s CSR umbrella and partnered by KaKa-Ba Hospital.
For mass awareness, Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd organised awareness talks on FM radio in 33 cities by eminent doctors, besides in-clinic activities at 125 chest physicians across the country showcasing the TB awareness film and highlighting the dos and don’ts of the deadly disease.
Tuberculosis is an infectious bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, which affects the lungs most commonly. It is a highly contagious bacterial infection that can spread quickly if not caught, isolated and treated early. A TB patient can infect through breathing, coughing, talking, singing, sneezing etc.
Prevalence of TB is even higher in Gujarat compare to national average. In country’s first state-wide survey conducted in Gujarat indicated a prevalence of 390 cases per 1 lakh population, much higher than the national estimate published by WHO in the 2015 global TB report of 250 prevalent cases per 1 lakh population.
According to Global Tuberculosis Report 2016 of the World Health Organisation (WHO), India accounts for 24 per cent of all TB cases in the world and the spread of tuberculosis in India is larger than previously projected. The report estimates incidence of TB cases at 2.2 million in India per annum out of a global incidence of 9.6 million cases.
Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd. is amongst the few companies worldwide that has continued to invest in research and development and is committed to Government of India’s mission of TB free by 2025. This is also in line with World Health Organization’s (WHO) ambitious new 20-year (2016-2035) ‘End TB Strategy’. 2017 is the second year of a two-year "Unite to End TB" campaign for World TB Day.
Cadila Pharmaceuticals, driven by its vision of providing world-class, yet affordable medicines, had launched Risorine, the world’s first anti-tubercular drug with boosted Rifampicin, in the year 2009. Risorine uses Piperine which acts as a bio enhancer in boosting the efficacy of Rifampicin and helps in improving patient compliance by lowering side effects. The drug has so far, been successfully administered to more than 3 Lakh TB patients.
Cadila Pharmaceuticals was one of the first companies to introduce Mycobutol and P-Zide in India and has been serving the Indian medical fraternity for over 30 years with a complete range of Anti-TB drugs.