Assam: 30 students at NIT Silchar infected with Tuberculosis

Thirty students of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Assam’s Silchar have been infected with Tuberculosis (TB) on the campus, triggering panic.
Cachar district tuberculosis officer Dr Ratna Chakraborty said, “A health department team tested 200 students on Tuesday and 30 of them were symptomatic of TB. Their samples were sent to the Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH).”
Dr Chakraborty said a student from Bangladesh was infected with the disease after he returned from home in February this year. He was kept in isolation immediately after that, and the NIT authorities were asked to issue a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to prevent further spread and to keep the students safe, she said.
The NIT Silchar authorities, however, refused to talk to the media HT reached out to the director of NIT Silchar, Professor Dilip Kumar Baidya, but he didn’t respond.
According to the students, many of the inmates of hostel 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the institute are suffering from the disease and the infection is spreading fast.
“We have written letters to the (university) authorities informing about the situation inside the hostels, seeking their attention,” said a student.
In the emails, the students wrote, “As you may be aware, there has been a recent outbreak of tuberculosis (TB) within our hostel premises. The contagious nature of this disease poses a serious risk to the well-being of our students, faculty, and staff members. In light of this situation, we urge the administration to consider the implementation of online classes as a proactive measure to prevent further transmission.”