PESHAWAR, May 4: Speakers at a training workshop on Thursday called for an awareness drive about treatment of tuberculosis and said that paramedical staff played an important role in controlling the disease.

“There is a misconception that TB is incurable. You are required to spread the message across that the disease is fully curable,” said Dr Abdul Ghafoor, provincial manager of the TB control programme, while speaking on the concluding day of the three-day workshop organised by Fedalis and International Union Against TB and Lung Diseases to impart training to the paramedical staff.

He said TB patients should continue the treatment for eight consecutive months and any discontinuation could lead to multi-drug resistance TB, which could cause death.

Dr Ghafoor said that though TB did spread through handshakes and sharing of towel or utensil, the most common way of its transmission to other people was coughing or sneezing in the open.

“TB patients should be advised to cover their mouths while sneezing or coughing,” he said, adding that free treatment and diagnostic facilities were available at the TB treatment centres in every district of the province.

Akmal Naveed of the Association for Community Development said paramedics played a vital role in ensuring that patients were diagnosed correctly.

He urged the paramedics to educate patients on preventive measures of the disease.

Dr Shaukat Ali, district TB control officer, said some patients stopped treatment when they began feeling better after starting medicines but, he stressed, eight months’ continuous treatment was vital to get rid of the disease once and for all.

Dr Bilqees, Dr Iftikhar and Dr Zabihullah also spoke.