It was the start of June when I had just completed programming the www.OurJeet.com site. Interestingly, I was instrumental in creating what is probably, the single biggest source of information on Tuberculosis on the net, before the disease struck me.

I had then got on to another project when I started feeling a bit sick. It all started with normal 99-100 fever and I ignored it. I took some of the usual medicines for headache, cold and fever. I was loaded with work related meetings and work. I used to get very tired in the last 1 week before I fell seriously ill. I remember, I had to go to a friends engagement party and I left office with a heavy headache and reached the party with high fever. After coming back home I got to bed and from that time onwards I was completely in bed for the next 2 months. The headaches started increasing and I started becoming more and more weak. I was then hospitalised and TBM was diagonised after I complained of double vision -- I could not see properly with both eyes.

I could never believe that I could ever be so ill. I called up few of my friends from hospital and they too could not believe me. They used to call me "Duracell... goes on and on and on". Now I would tell them "Duracell had discharged."
It is during this period of travail that lucky people experience the closeness of friends and family. I too was one of them. My friends called me up regularly and so did my near cousins. Family members were always there besides me, making me feel comfortable, happy and healthy. 10-15 days in hospital were very lonely, but the 2-3 hours when friends could visit me were the few nice moments that I really really enjoyed for the first time in my life. The hospital staff was also cheerful and made me smile especially Dr. (Mrs.) Reeta J Dalal. Really speaking I was not afraid of injections but was more worried about swallowing the "BIG and MANY" tablets and capsules. One can say that, I have learnt to take medicines only from these days.

I was (according to the doctor) malnourished when I was admitted to the hospital. I weighed about 50kgs, almost 10-12 kgs underweight. So doctors put me on a high protein diet at the hospital. The only thing Dr. Dalal told me, "Just keep having your food. You dont have to do anything but eat. Rest is all our job.” and I did just that. It worked! I had to eat Threptin biscuits (almost 10 a day), 2 glasses of milk, juices, fruits and this was in addition to the normal breakfast, lunch and dinner I had to have. I had never had so much of food intake. When I was discharged from hospital and reached home, I needed food every hour and I could not believe that I could eat so much. But later I realised, it was just the effect of the steroids that I was put on. I was put on 60mg on Wysolone daily which was gradually reduced. I started gaining weight. And every week I weighed myself it was about 1.5 - 2 kgs more than the previous time. I shot to about 60-62 in no time and I looked healthy. I never thought that I would increase my weight in such a manner.

I was on complete bed rest. No going out of the house. I missed my work and my computer. I did almost everything that I never had time to do earlier. Watching TV, News channel, Music Channels were on the top list during the day time and TV Serials during the eve. That was my only companion. I hardly watched TV before. I never used to watch cricket matches (except for India - Pak). During this period I got to see the India - England match, ball by ball. On the weekends, cousins would get some movies, which we all watched. Before I would never join my cousins for these movies. These few months were like a long awaited vacation, a vacation I had not had for almost 4-5 years. It was only studies and work. But these two months were completely different.

I had my routine checkup at the hospital in the last week of July and doctor found me fit to resume work. But as always ... family!! Grandparents and parents are always very possessive and very concerned. They didn't want me to start working. But I managed to persuade them. I wanted to be back to office with my work. I joined office part-time for next 2 months. I found myself comfortable working but the only problem still persisting was the eyesight. We consulted other neurologists also. They too had the same opinion that it would take its own time (may last for about 2-2.5 years) to recover. There was no medicine. I did not like being in office for only half the time. I had to rush home for my scheduled medicines and dinner. I resumed work full time from October after Dr. Dalal found good recovery in my health. She reduced my medicine doses. And it was a really happy moment when I could resume work full time. Work as much as want to. Do everything, but there were a few restrictions too - No driving (I enjoy driving, every weekend I used to go for a drive, which is not allowed now).

Now it’s been almost 6 months since I started my treatment on TBM. There has been no improvement in the eyesight, but my general health is fine. Stamina level has increased due to intake of healthy food (also includes junk food at low percentage for immunization) and medicines. I am not supposed to leave house without having 1 glass of milk and 1 glass of juice every morning. I carry dry fruits as my evening snacks even today so that I keep up my stamina to work for about 16 -18 hours daily. I make it a point to sleep well on Saturdays and Sundays when I have a weekly off. Also I go out for movies and walk on the beach during the weekends so that I don’t drown myself in my work again.

A few things that, I would like everyone reading this to know. TBM is a fatal disease, if not detected on time. Proper care, and continued medications needs to be taken for complete recovery. Medicines cannot be skipped even for a day. The medication lasts from 9 - 18 months depending upon the recovery. Its not only medicines that help, but its the proper support of friends and family that also matters. There are always something’s that come in your way of recovery, but its always you who has to find a way out. "Where there's a will there's a way!"

My grandpa has TB, and is on certain meds. Unfortunately this past week he has lost 8lbs. He had lost 20, before they diagnosed him with TB. He put 3/4lbs back on after taking meds. I was wondering if this could be a side effect of TB or meds. He may have to go to the hospital this weekend, he was doing ok, but now he has no color and will not eat. I had no idea TB was out in the world again and so many people had it. It was a surprising realization how bad it is. I still don't know a lot about it, still doing research to find out what I can do. Is there anything I can do to help him? Or even my grandma, and family

I was a patient of TB three months ago, and after completing the course of 7 months, I've overcome this disease. I pledge to ALMIGHTY that such a thing never happens to anybody in this world and if it does happen, join the place where I'm joining. Well, I'm not from a sound family who can afford to help this site, but I would ask everybody to help eradicate such a disease, I did it [overcome] by taking loans from the bank. THANKS, STOPTB site makers, and I pray to god to help those who emphasize stop TB, those who want to help these workers, and those who want to eradicate such evil.

I am an Indian doctor doing my post graduation in social and preventive medicine. As India is a country with high prevalence of TB literacy in our state has improved from last few years, but our socio economic condition is still below average. I am from Kerala (an Indian state with high literacy, low infant mortality, and low maternal mortality and with low per capital income. In spite of high literacy Tb is still high prevalent in Kerala due to low socio economic category, most of the people are manual laborers. They belong to high-risk category for TB. Health education, economic revolution, use of available health service reduces the incidence of TB.

My son was recently diagnosed with active TB. That in itself should be scary enough. But, while it was scary, it was even more disconcerting that he went to five different doctors in our HMO system (Kaiser) before finding out what the problem was. During this time he exposed God knows how many other people to the disease.

Those that work in the health field realize that TB is a communicable disease. Thankfully not everyone that is exposed to the bacteria will develop an active case of TB. Usually a casual encounter with an infected person will not cause a person to contract the disease. However if your immune system has been compromised (HIV, stress, infection, age) or if it is immature (with young children it is especially dangerous) you are at a higher risk.

In my sons case we never found out why or where or from whom he contracted TB.

His case is atypical. He is Caucasian, is not homeless, is not an alcoholic or drug user, is not HIV positive, is not underweight or malnourished and has never been out of the United States. The fact he has TB is in itself frightening. But even more disconcerting is the fact that five doctors in our HMO missed it. In the two months before a diagnosis was made, my son exhibited many of the symptoms of TB: night sweats, coughing up blood, a nagging cough, fever, chills and weight loss. None of the doctors recognized the symptoms. In fact, after an internal review Kaiser has informed us that even with all of these symptoms they still would have never tested for at least the possibility.

The pulmonologist at the state run TB clinic where is being treated said that if he had been Hispanic or Asian and exhibited the same symptoms that my son had it would have been the first test they would have run.

He ended up with some scarring on his lung and the doctor said he stayed communicable longer because he had had it for sometime before we his family asked if a TB test had been run. It hadn't been. If we, as laypersons, can guess at a disease and aren't even aware of the gamut of symptoms, (we knew only of the coughing symptom) why aren't people that are trained to catch and stop such diseases doing just that?

Doctors and people living in the United States have to be made aware that TB is here. We have many immigrants coming to the area where we live, a large portion from third world countries where TB is an epidemic. There is a problem in Orange County, as in many places in Southern California and the United States, of overcrowding, homelessness and people with drug and alcohol problems. We have many AIDS patients who are at an even higher risk of contracting communicable diseases. We can't let this problem slip by.

My dad died from TB when I was 17. The medication he was on also caused liver failure because his liver wasn't used to taking drugs at all. His doctor gave him antibiotics that didn't work and I told the doctor this so many times. I felt very bitter because the hospital didn't give us any idea that my dad was dying. Or we could have taken him home to die near his family. I'm nearly 26 now and I work for the National Health Service, but not as a medical person. I want to do something that can help.

Tuberculosis is a disabling disease physically and economically, but when associated with AIDS and other immune compromised diseases it becomes deadly, more over the emerging drug resistance is another serious threat for which either we do not have solution or very expensive, especially for the developing countries. I intend to draw attention towards the unethical medical practice and irrational use of the drugs by the untrained staff in the rural areas of the most of developing countries, monotherapy, short courses, and the use of low quality drugs is a common practice. Quackery is the major cause in Pakistan for the drug resistance. If we want to stop TB, and control multi drug resistance, we have to check unethical practice and irrational use of anti TB drugs.

I live in Washington State and have personally been affected by TB. I did not have to suffer the disease yet I suffered by watching my husband suffer the painful therapy for over two years. My husband made medical science they say by being the first ever documented person to contract TB from medical waste. This all took place at his job, which was processing medical waste. My husband's strain was a multi drug resistant strain, which was DNA matched to a lab that sent its waste to where my husband worked. Regulations need to be made nation wide on medical waste or it will begin to kill beyond belief. Sadly I found out the hard way, how important it is to recognize this. Had my husband been contagious and passed this to our three small children they would have died. TB is bigger than you think and don't expect your government to tell you this, since I've learned that they don't want you to know, since this would cause a wide spread panic. My story is true! And I hope it reaches just one person in hopes that they can reach one more and so on. Wake up America before it is too late. Don't expect any help unless you go for it yourself. My husband and I will never be the same after this experience. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy

Recently I watched a 60 Minutes segment, which highlighted the TB crisis in Russia as well as its connection to the US. It was mentioned that there is an exposure to introduction of TB to the U.S. by Russian immigrants. It made no mention of the growing popularity of tours for American men who go to Russia and other CIS states in search of romance and wives. I have been on these tours and these men come in contact with hundreds of women in an enclosed space. It seems to me that some of those agencies (that fight TB) featured in the 60 Minutes program should work directly with the tour agencies and perhaps screen those men when they return from these tours.

Please pass this letter along to any appropriate TB organizations, Thank you.

I'm writing to you about a very serious health problem encountered in some youth hostels in Europe, and I wanted to make sure all concerned are notified.

The problem is basically air circulation in the hostel sleeping quarters. Some youth hostels have very restricted, or practically no air circulation, in their sleeping quarters, and this is a very serious health hazard with respect to air borne disease. Of particular concern is the spread of tuberculosis, which is the single most common contagious air born disease.

The hostels bunk many people from many different countries together NOT EXCLUDING TRAVELERS FROM THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES WHERE SUCH DISEASES ARE INDEMIC! In no other place is the international spread of air borne disease more likely to spread than in poorly ventilated youth hostel sleeping quarters. Last summer the youth hostel at Koeln (Deutz) Germany, a huge hostel with hundreds of beds, proved to be particularly nasty. Eight travelers per room with a window capable of cracking only a few centimeters at its maximum on a hot WINDLESS summer night was suffocating. A coughing traveler in the room made the situation particularly unceasing. Hostels must take into account the fact that many days out of the year are WINDLESS; therefore enough ventilation is required to accommodate those days. Currently, many youth hostels don't pay any particular attention to this. The consequences can be lethal considering the mix of travelers together in an enclosed space for 8 hours straight.

Your attention to this matter is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

A very concerned traveler.

I have positive TB. I'd just found out that I had it 3 days ago. I'm only 16 yeas old, and I know that younger people have had it and died from it. But I'd never came to believe of having a serious disease, and not knowing from whom I got it. It is also sad because my family and I have a low income and I also have a 2 year old nephew and a 2 week old new-born niece, it is sad because I'd might of transported to them before I even knew that I was affected by it. But some say that there's a change to control it and when I remember that I get my hopes up, but then again I know that the costs for the treatment may be out of our reach, I can't feel bad about it because I know that there is a God that can heal any one in this world from the most chronic illness to the less harmful disease. Some times like right now I think of what will happen to me if I don't get the treatment on time. I don't know if you (the reader) may care of my situation but I just needed to share this with some one because I can't tell any of my friends because they might fear me and I'll miss out on the fun things that I might of being doing with them since this bacteria goes through any body's immune system and it can be catch easily and with out notice.... I wonder if anyone will notice of my illness before I tell him/her and have him/her talk to me of the good things that can happen to me by being affected by this disease. "I can't see it, can't hear it, can't smell it, can't touch it, and can't taste it, but yet it is in me" Hope that I can get cure and not be able to spread this disease to other innocent people that might not resist it and can't believe it. It's sad how you can have it and not know that it is in you, but like I said there is a cure to control TB and some day be able to destroy it. And there is a God who can cure me and thousands of others those who believe in him!

It came up to me to search for this web page not only because I have TB but because we were discussing TB in my science class and I raised my hand and said "Mr. Liberman, I know some one who has TB (which it's me)". So I was asked to write a report on TB and get extra credit for it.

I gotta thank you for taking your time on reading this silly letter which you might of read some thing similar to this a hundred times, but I just wanted to share it with some one who doesn't know me and wont fear me.... sorry to take your time away I know you have to do some better things then hear a boy's cry because of TB.

Again thanks a lot for taking your time on me, I appreciate that and hopefully I'll recover from this and get treatment on time. If I ever get rich and famous I'm gonna donate money to cure TB, if it isn't already a cure by that time.........

This is a story of Yashpal Pulani who owns a shoe shop in Shivaji Park, Gurgaon in Haryana. He himself is a cured TB patient. So motivated he was with the new strategy of TB control programme that he decided to contribute to the success of the programme by being a DOT provider for others in the locality. Yashpal’s Pulani Boot House is situated in a busy market of Gurgaon. While he runs his business successfully, he is equally successful as a DOT provider. He has 20 patients under treatment. Eight patients have already completed treatment under him. So committed he is to the programme that he has kept a shelf in his shop to store TB medicines in patient wise boxes having the name of the patients. He not only provides medicines to the patients, he also maintains very good record of each patient and has a good rapport with the patients. There are no defaulters, and if there is any he makes it a point to visit the house of the `patients to find out the reasons. He has used his business contacts to the full advantage of the TB control programme. He uses his contact to motivate patients, retrieve defaulters, if any, and successfully implement the TB control programme.

People like him are very important for the programme and it is this involvement at the grass root that ensures the success of the programme. Such dedicated people should be recognised and their experiences should be shared with the public so that more and more community leaders and others in public life can make use of their contacts for the success of the programme

Meerut, a district few kilometers away from the national capital, Delhi is a RNTCP district. One of the NGO, ‘Falah-e-am Charitable Hospital’ has shown that NGO can make marked difference to the success of the programme. Falah-e-am Charitable Hospital with collaboration with the District TB Officer started microscopy center and DOT center in urban slum of Meerut. This slum is located in an interior of the district where there are no health facilities available. Muslim population predominantly inhabits this slum. NGO started its activities on 18th Dec 2000. At present it is providing DOTS to 621 patients, perhaps the maximum number catered by an NGO under RNTCP. It not only provides DOTS, but also creates awareness about the disease and availability of free treatment. Hence it is the responsibility of the DTO to identify such dedicated NGOs, get them involved in RNTCP and encourage them to start activities in remote areas of the district adding to the success of the programme.