The Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir (DHSK) today launched a daily DOTS medicine course free of charge for newly detected tuberculosis patients across the Valley under Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP).

Earlier, TB patients were being treated on intermittent DOTS regimen where patients were administered medicines three days a week.Director of DHSK Saleem Ur Rehman launched the daily- based DOTS Regimen (medicine doses) at District Tuberculosis Centre, Srinagar where he distributed the medicines to newly detected TB patients, an official spokesperson said.The event was organised by District TB Centre under the aegis of State TB Control Society and DHSK, he said.

On the occasion, Rehman said in India, around 600 people die of tuberculosis every day."But in the Valley, the cure rate is 85 per cent compared to the rest of the country and DHSK is working very hard to improve the rate further," he said."The new treatment protocol replaces the existing three times a week treatment and will be implemented across Kashmir.Instead of several individual drugs, patients will be put on fixed drug combinations, that is three or more drugs as a single dose, to reduce the pill burden and to simplify the treatment," the director said.