Tuberculosis 'is not just a blue-collar disease'

Dubai: Parasuram Somavarapu, a 48-year-old civil engineer from India, was shocked to discover he had tuberculosis, an infectious airborne disease.

Never mind that he had been coughing for two years prior to his diagnosis in January this year; never mind he had lost almost half his body weight; never mind he had to quit his job in October because he was too weak to work - Parasuram thought he was immune to tuberculosis (TB) because he was from the professional, middle-income group.

"I was very much surprised. I thought it was a low-income disease," he told Gulf News.

The father-of-two only found out he had the disease when he was brought to Rashid Hospital, after collapsing at the Creek. Now, after undergoing anti-TB treatment for two months, he was discharged on Monday on World Tuberculosis Day.

As a middle-class professional, his case is rare. Most TB cases at Rashid Hospital infectious disease unit come from the blue-collar, low-income group.

Dr Ahmad Alhaj Saleh, senior specialist internal medicine at Rashid Hospital, told Gulf News many were coming in late for treatment.

"They think it is just a simple disease, just a cough. They go to the pharmacist and buy antibiotics or cough syrup over the counter," he said, adding lack of access to private medical care was another reason.

But access to medical care does not necessarily guarantee immediate diagnosis. Parasuram had sought medical advice from a private clinic for his incessant coughing and weight loss last year, but was told he had a throat infection.

Doctors blame the socio-economic bias when it comes to diagnosing TB among the middle-class professional group.

Dr Juma Bilal Fairuz, member of the National TB Committee, told Gulf News physicians were less likely to consider TB among middle-income professionals with symptoms.

"There is some bias. We're always telling doctors not to look at the socio-economic status of the patients when considering TB," he said.

"Doctors are supposed to do X-rays if the patient has been coughing for more than three weeks and is unresponsive to medicines," regardless of socio-economic status, he added.