According to World Health Organisation (WHO), tuberculosis claims 1.7 million lives per year and total 9 million new TB cases are registered every year in the world. Also, in India, one patient dies of TB every one minute.
However, Zimbabwe resident Dumisani Msimanga, a 41-year-old school teacher was lucky to survive the dreadful disease, despite suffering for six months. He told doctors that in 2017, he approached a doctor in Zimbabwe, complaining of pain in the left of his chest. When his X-ray was done, doctors realised that there was a fluid collected in his left chest. A tube was then inserted in his left chest and daily 200 ml of pus would come out of the tube into the bag connected to it. Further investigation revealed that his left lung was destroyed. He also told doctors that he had been treated for tuberculosis in 2009 and had taken treatment for the same.
For 6 months, he lived with the tube and pus pouring out of it, harbouring virulent bacteria. Finally, because of his deteriorating health, he stopped working as a school teacher.
Also read: World TB Day: 18-Year-Old TB Survivor Set To Appear For SSC Exams
At this stage, with no ray of hope, he decided to look towards medical options in India and he came to Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai Central.
We evaluated his disease and treated him with antibiotics for a week. We then decided to remove the entire lung with Pleura. It was expected to be a difficult task. But the operation was successfully done. Now high antibiotics were given to clear the virulent bacteria. He fully recovered and was sent back to Zimbabwe,” Dr. Suhas Parikh, Cardiac Surgeon.
1/3rd residents in India live with TB bacteria but not everyone gets affected by the same. The reason being, the bacteria resides in the body in an inactive mode. But if the man’s immunity level drops, for any reason, then the same TB bacteria starts increasing and it affects the health.
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