17 per cent tea garden workers in Assam have tuberculosis

Guwahati — About 17 per cent of tea laborers in Assam were suffering from tuberculosis following which the state government is planning to initiate DOTS centres across all gardens.

Replying to a query by AGP MLA Keshab Mahanta during Zero Hour, Health and Family Welfare Minister Nazrul Islam said the government was preparing itself to cure the 17 per cent people of tea gardens through various measures.

“In every garden, we are planning to set up a DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course) center,” Islam said.

One of the main reasons for rise in TB in the tea gardens was non-completion of the full course of medicine by the patients, he added, IndiaTv reported.

“TB is a contagious disease. You have to take the medicine for the complete six months. But usually, the tea garden laborers stop it after they become well in 2-3 months. So they are not fully cured and after some times, they suffer again,” Islam said.

The minister said the death rate had come down to 4 per cent in 2014 from 11 per cent earlier due to various steps initiated by the government.