New Delhi: The Serum Institute of India (SII) has urged the Union health ministry to allow in-house testing of its Cy-Tb injection for the detection of latent tuberculosis, saying the testing facility for this product is not available in any government lab in the country, official sources said on Wednesday (May 31). A letter in this regard was written by Prakash Kumar Singh, Director at SII, they said.
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approved market authorisation of Cy-Tb injection on May 9, 2022, but even after a year of approval, Cy-Tb is not available in the market due to the non-availability of testing facility in any government lab in India, Singh said in the letter.
Also Read: India Has Seen A Reduction In Tuberculosis Incidences: Union Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya
According to the sources, Mr. Singh is also learnt to have mentioned that Cy-Tb is important for the detection of latent TB and the government should allow its in-house testing so that the injection can be made available in India and the world at large.
The DGCA had granted market authorisation to the SII’s Cy-Tb injection, which can be used for skin test for diagnosis of latent TB, for those aged 18 and above.
The government has said India is committed to eliminating TB by 2025, five years ahead of the target set by Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030.
Also Read: India Committed To End Tuberculosis By 2025: PM Modi Lauches TB-Mukt Panchayat Initiative
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
