Fujifilm India Join Hands With Chhatrapati Shivaji Subharti Hospital To End TB Together

Fujifilm India in partnership with Chhatrapati Shivaji Subharti Hospital organised an awareness program ‘Together End TB’ to help eradicate tuberculosis in India. Commenting on the occasion, Haruto Iwata, Managing Director, Fujifilm India said, “Our association with Chhatrapati Shivaji Subharti Hospital is in line with our endeavour to fight against Tuberculosis in India. The correct education and awareness from Hospitals and doctors is a crucial first step and can significantly contribute to the government’s vision of completely eradicating the disease from the country by 2025”.

According to the WHO’s Global TB report, Tuberculosis is the tenth leading cause of death, worldwide. Since 2011, it has been the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, ranking above HIV/AIDS and claiming over 4000 lives a day. India has the highest number of TB cases in the world at 27 per cent of the 10 million people diagnosed with the disease in 2017 globally.

The situation in India is primarily due to the patients suffering from undetected tuberculosis for too long; late detection of disease which increases their risk of transmitting the disease to others. While the burden of the disease is declining slowly worldwide, the progress in controlling disease and mitigating its consequences is extremely imperative in India. To expedite the cause, continuous and conscious efforts need to be taken for early diagnosis and treatment.

Understanding this need, Fujifilm India looks to contribute towards the wellbeing of the people who are suffering from the disease and yet are unaware of its repercussions. The main objective of the program, Together End TB, is also to emphasize that incomplete or delayed treatment can lead to serious complications or fatalities.

Explaining the objective of the program, Chander Shekhar Sibal, Senior Vice President, Head of Medical Division, Fujifilm India, said, “Chhatrapati Shivaji Subharti Hospital has a legacy of service and cares to its patients for years. Fujifilm is connected with the common ethos of providing the finest healthcare in the most humane manner to the people we serve. Our collaboration with Subharti Hospital is an effort to raise consciousness and promote advanced diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis amongst patients”.

The program also encourages patients in India to complete their treatment cycle as ignorance or complacency can lead to MDR TB, which is even more dangerous and often not treatable.

Further throwing light on the importance of early diagnosis of TB, Dr. Krishnamurty, Deputy Medical Superintendent, Chhatrapati Shivaji Subharti Hospital said, “We are very pleased to collaborate with Fujifilm India to add value to the existing diagnostic portfolio and treatment outcomes. The aim of this joint effort is to help the medical professionals with accurate and precise diagnosis in order to achieve the goal of ‘End TB’ in India”.

“Working with Fujifilm now gives us the unique opportunity to closely address the medical needs of improving the quality of TB diagnosis in India. The collaboration will open up new possibilities and help in generating awareness among the masses”, said Dr. Eema, Associate Professor, Department of TB, talking about the roadmap to deal with the problem.