MCGM refutes claim of NGO's report on tuberculosis death

Refuting a Mumbai based NGO's claims of tuberculosis being the major cause of death of Mumbaikars in the last few years, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) today said that the basic parameters based on which the NGO has put out its report were flawed.
According to a report on 'State of Health of Mumbai' released by Praja Foundation on July 15, the NGO had claimed that as many as 7,075 people had died due to TB in FY 2013-14 in Mumbai and the total number of deaths caused by the infectious bacterial disease in the last six years stood at a staggering 46,606.

The MCGM in a circular issued to the media today said that the total number of deaths due to TB in Mumbai has been calculated based on the data received from the death certificates of the patients, which is an incorrect way of estimating the causes of deaths.
"If a person has suffered from TB at any point during his lifetime, then the death certificate of that person mentions TB as one of the causes of death, even if that person had been completely cured of the disease," MCGM said.
Praja countered this claim by saying that the death certificate is filled by the physician, based on which the Medical officer of the health department of the MCGM certifies the cause of death.

"This only reflects the inadequacy of the registrar of Birth and Deaths for Mumbai in particular and the government in general," Milind Mhaske Director of Praja foundation said.