Amitabh Bachchan supports Maharashtra Govt.'s anti-TB campaign

Amitabh Bachchan recently joined hands with Government of Maharashtra to launch an anti-Tuberculosis (TB) campaign in Mumbai.

The anti-TB campaign has been titled 'TB Harega, Desh Jeetega' and it involves a range of multimedia content aimed at generating awareness about prevention, timely diagnosis and treatment of TB.

Bachchan, who has been made brand ambassador for the campaign, revealed that he himself was a victim of TB in the past.

"This is perhaps the first time that I am sharing this publicly that I have myself been a patient of TB 10-12 years back and after treatment I am healthy and standing before you today. I felt that because I have myself suffered TB hence, it is very important that I do my bit towards eradicating this disease from the country and this is the primary reason why I joined this campaign," he added.

Also present at the event were the state Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, and chief of Hindu right wing Shiv Sena party, Uddhav Thackeray.

According to estimates, almost 40 per cent of the Indian population is infected with TB bacteria out of which a vast majority suffers from latent rather than active TB.

Every year in India, TB infects around 2.3 million people and kills 300,000.

Bachchan is also the goodwill ambassador for polio UNICEF campaign.