14 patients, including five children who were suffering from cough and fever were allegedly prescribed tuberculosis (TB) treatment drugs by quacks in a shocking case in Agra.

The incident came to light during aninitiative to screen TB patients by the health department. Doctors are now conducting drug-susceptibility test of these patients. The district tuberculosis officer has hastened a complaint to the senior superintendent of police to register an FIR against 10 quacks.

According to the national tuberculosis control programme, details of patients suffering with tuberculosis are mandatory to be uploaded on an online portal by doctors, pathology laboratories and medicine suppliers.

Close monitoring of data uploaded by medical stores have found that 14 people had stopped taking TB medicine without completion of the course. These patients were then identified and a TB control team went to their homes for further investigation.It was thendiscovered that these people had visited a nearby clinic and without undergoing any test for TB, they were prescribed anti-TB drugs for cough and fever. The patients had stopped taking the medicines after they felt better.

Later, the investigation team went to the concerned clinics and detained several medicines used for treating TB. Few of the clinics were found to be providing powdered medicines to their patients. On further enquiry,the concerned doctors failed to present registration number and degree certificates to the investigation team. They did not even respond to the notice issued by the health department.

District tuberculosis officer UB Singh told TOI that majority of the 14 patients are below 18 years old. They are conducting universal drug-susceptibility test on these patients to assessthe level of resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs. Taking TB by a non-infected person can cause serious damage to the immunity system.

Singh further had requested the SSP to register an FIR against 10 fake doctors under IPC section 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of diseases dangerous to life) or 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of dangerous to life).