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Once treated for TB, patient must complete course, says Amitabh Bachchan

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Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan on Sunday officially joined hands with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and state government as a brand ambassador for their anti-tuberculosis campaign.

Speaking at the inauguration function of BMC's TB control and awareness programme at JW Marriot in Juhu, Bachchan for the first time spoke openly about him undergoing TB treatment in 2000. Bachchan said that TB can happen to anyone but awareness can help us fight the disease and eradicate it like polio. Bachchan further emphasised the need to encourage TB patients to complete TB treatment to avoid the drug-resistant form of TB.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray were also present at the 'TB Harega, Desh Jeetega' (TB loses, India wins) campaign launch.

The BMC had approached Bachchan for its TB programme earlier this year. Dr Padmaja Keskar, executive health officer, BMC said, "Even in the polio programme, we saw the impact that Mr. Bachchan's message had on people. With his personal experience, he will have more connect with people in spreading awareness. After this launch, we will start the awareness campaign at the ward level to cover more people. We have shot a short film in which Bachchan gives some messages for TB awareness. The film will then be circulated through social media."

The 'TB Harega, Desh Jeetega' campaign features multimedia content to extensively disseminate key messages for TB prevention and control through TV, print, radio, online and outdoor media. It has a range of messages on the steps to be undertaken for prevention, timely diagnosis and treatment of TB. As the face and voice of the campaign, Bachchan will highlight the urgency of tackling one of the biggest public health challenges facing the country.

The disease infects approximately 2.3 million people in India every year and causes 300,000 deaths. In Mumbai on an average, 30,000 drug-sensitive cases are detected in the public sector. In addition to these, multi-drug-resistant (MDR), extensively-drug-resistant (XDR) and extremely drug-resistant (XXDR) TB cases are found in Mumbai.
 

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