The doctors of Max Super Specialty Hospital have claimed to have treated an infant who was suffering from a rare disease called congenital tuberculosis.The Consultant Pediatrics of the hospital Dr Rohit Srivastava said that Manju Rani of Sharanpur gave birth to a baby boy in the month of September this year but the boy was underweight and not taking enough feed.
He said that further investigation indicated that the mother of the infant was diagnosed with Tuberculosis while she was pregnant on which a Gastric Aspirit Test was performed on the boy.
The test proved that the boy was suffering from congenital tuberculosis. “The infection had spread throughout the body of the child. In my career this is the first case of Congenital Tuberculosis that I’ve seen. The rarity is evident from medical history which says that only 300 cases of this rare tuberculosis in new born are reported worldwide,” he informed.
The doctors started the treatment of rare disease on which the infant reacted very well. The doctor claimed that the baby’s activity improved and he started demanding feed. He said that Tuberculosis is a curable disease, if the mother is treated during pregnancy itself through anti – tuberculosis medications, the child will get protection against any such infection. Expectant mothers must be careful that in case they are coughing up sputum regularly, they must consult the doctor.
The doctor further informed that active tuberculosis during pregnancy if left untreated can cause Congenital Tuberculosis in the baby which has a high mortality rate. The early diagnosis and treatment of TB during pregnancy is critical as it can save the baby from getting the infection.
Tuberculosis affected an estimated 8.8 million people and caused 1.4 million deaths globally in 2010, including a half-million women and at least 50 000 children. India has the largest number of TB cases in the world with every year nearly 2 million people get TB disease. PNS