Cataract Chronicles-25 years
As I celebrate my 25th year volunteering as an eye surgeon in Southeast Asia. I am delighted to share photos and stories about the vision challenges and the people and cultures of India, Nepal, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. - Dr. Gary Barth
Chronicle 33 - Another Example of Government Rules Hindering Excellent Medical Care
This story occurred when I worked as a General Practitioner physician in the Dalai Lama’s Delek Hospital in the Indian Himalayan foothills.
The Tibetan refugees, who were my favorite patients ever, lived in crowded camps, leading to TB transmission.
Yet my ability to diagnose TB on a “sputum smear” was severely hindered by the mercifully brief administration of the ultra-Hindu Prime Minister Moraji Desai (1977-1979).
He did not believe in Western medicine and recommended that “urine therapy was the perfect medical solution for the millions of Indians who cannot afford medical treatment.”
Following similar beliefs, he reduced access to alcohol throughout the nation.
Swept up in his rules was the “fixative acid alcohol,” which was essential for diagnosing active TB in the sputum. As a result, we were not able to determine which refugees had active TB.
